Hundreds of drivers picketed this week at shipping sites in Shanghai, the world's busiest container port, calling for lower port fees to offset damaging hikes in diesel prices, in a strike that prompted a heavy police response.

The Shanghai Municipal Transport and Port Authority published a set of proposals late Friday in response to strikers' demands, abolishing or reducing various fees incurred by drivers.

But there was still some dispute over container freight charges, said Wen Yunchao, a prominent blogger who has followed the strikes and been in regular contact with people on the ground.

Authorities have reduced those changes from 50 yuan ($7.7) to 20 yuan per container, but drivers want them abolished altogether.

Wen said the situation in Shanghai appeared calm on Saturday, with drivers apparently in negotiation with authorities. It was unclear whether the strike had ended altogether.

But Wen added that this week's strikes could trigger copycat work stoppages in other ports where drivers have similar grievances.

He pointed to a high-profile taxi driver strike in the southwestern megacity of Chongqing in 2008, which was successfully resolved and subsequently triggered cab work stoppages in other cities around the country.

The state-run Chinese-language media -- which is heavily censored -- has not reported on the strike, in an indication of official unease over the potential for wider unrest.

Inflation has a history of sparking protests in China and the government is on edge over spiralling prices, particularly after inflation became a factor in the popular uprisings that have rocked the Arab world.

China's consumer price index rose 5.4 percent year-on-year in March -- the fastest pace since July 2008 and well above the government's 2011 target of four percent.

"They (leaders) realise that the recent inflation situation in China can easily trigger general unrest," Wen said.

The government has raised petrol and diesel prices three times since December.

Soaring prices of food and housing have also become top public concerns, prompting Premier Wen Jiabao to pledge new efforts to contain the problem in his address to China's rubber-stamp parliament in March.

earlier related report
China truckers strike for third day in Shanghai
Shanghai (AFP) April 22, 2011 - Truck drivers picketed at Shanghai port facilities over rising fuel costs for a third day on Friday, prompting a heavy police response to restore calm at a strike location.

The walkouts this week by hundreds of drivers at shipping sites in Shanghai, China's largest port and the world's busiest container port, underline official concerns over the potential for spiralling inflation to spark unrest.

Police have been dispatched to several port sites in the city since Wednesday, when drivers first gathered to call for higher freight rates to offset hikes in diesel prices.

Protesters assembled again around the China International Marine Containers (CIMC) terminal in Shanghai's northern Baoshan district on Friday morning, a participant told AFP by phone.

"It's chaotic here now. Policemen are coming with police cars ... they tried to disperse the people," the man said on condition of anonymity at mid-morning.

However, an AFP reporter who arrived at the Baoshan CIMC terminal at mid-day saw a heavy police presence, but no remaining strike activity.

Employees at several logistics companies around Waigaoqiao Port, another focus for this week's strikes, said they had no information about any new protests there on Friday.

It was not immediately clear whether the actions have affected cargo traffic out of Shanghai, although some North American logistics companies warned of possible delays earlier this week.

Shanghai port authorities and the city's government have not responded to AFP requests for comment on the matter.

The state-controlled Chinese-language media has made no mention of the demonstrations, apparently fearing they could spread to other sectors.

But the English-language Global Times -- published for foreign readers -- on Friday quoted Shanghai police denying claims circulating on the Internet that three drivers had been beaten to death by police in the unrest.

"No casualties were reported, nor were there any conflicts between police and truck drivers," the paper quoted Zeng Ni, spokeswoman for the Shanghai police as saying.

Shanghai media said Friday that car-use fees paid by taxi drivers to their employers would be reduced starting May 1, in an apparent bid to keep the protests from spreading.

Cabbies will pay their companies 8,200 yuan ($1,262) each month, down from 8,500 yuan, the Shanghai Daily reported.

Inflation has a history of sparking unrest in China and the government is on edge over spiralling prices, particularly after inflation became a factor in the popular uprisings that have rocked the Arab world.

The Arab unrest also prompted online appeals for similar uprisings in China, but no major protests have been reported.

China's consumer price index rose 5.4 percent year-on-year in March -- the fastest pace since July 2008 and well above the government's 2011 target of four percent.

The truck drivers, mostly private operators, said their incomes had been squeezed by four increases in the government-set price of diesel since October, the Century Weekly magazine said in a report on its website that was quickly removed.

Most had previously earned 4,000 yuan ($615) a month before the diesel price rises, the report said.

In addition to increased fuel costs, drivers were protesting over what they said were unreasonably high handling fees charged by the port, according to a notice issued by ROE Logistics Inc, a Montreal-based customs broker and freight forwarder.

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