Overall consumer prices in China were up 1.0 percent on month in February, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday.
On a yearly basis, inflation was up 1.3 percent - again topping forecasts for 0.9 percent and up from 0.2 percent in the previous month.
The bureau also said that producer prices contracted 0.9 percent on year - but that beat forecasts for a decline of 1.1 percent following the 1.4 percent fall a month earlier.