Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed the consumer price index (CPI) on the mainland fell by 0.1 percent in May year on year, the same decline as in March and April.

It was better than the median estimate of a 0.2 percent decline by analysts in a Reuters poll.

Food prices last month declined by 0.4 percent.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.6 percent.

But deflationary pressure in the country's producer prices mounted as they retreated 3.3 percent, a larger decline than analysts' expectations of a 3.2 percent fall.

The bureau's chief statistician, Dong Lijuan, blamed the decline in producer or factory-gate prices on a high base last year and a drop in global prices for oil products as well as chemicals.

Prices for coal and other raw materials at home also dropped due to ample inventories, Dong added.

Dong noted that the country's overall price trajectory, however, was positive, partially thanks to growth in the high-end manufacturing sector.

“China is boosting consumption with greater intensity and more precise measures," Dong said.

"New quality productive forces are growing stronger, and supply-demand relationships in some sectors have improved.

On an even brighter note, Dong said the prices for rooms in the country's hotels jumped 4.6 percent in May, the biggest increase in 10 years, on growing tourism industry as well as arts and entertainment activities rolled out across the country. (Additional reporting by Reuters)