Headline inflation in China surged to a 28-month high in November, prompting fears that European consumers will soon have to pay more for Chinese made products.

Figure released by the Chinese National Statistics Bureau (NSB) on Saturday showed the consumer price index, a major gauge of inflation, rose 5.1 percent year-on-year, higher than the expectation of most analysts, if not all.

Surging prices in the oriental country may impact Europe in two ways, analysts said.

In a direct hit to the Europeans who has got accustomed to cheap made-in-China products, Chinese manufactures will have to pass on the rising cost by hiking the prices of goods exported to Europe which is China's biggest trading partner.

In a more subtle way of negative influence, the Chinese government will have to resort to tightening measures in response to higher prices, putting a brake on what is believed as one of the important engines for global economic growth. That may undermine recovery in Europe especially as the sovereign debt prices refuses to subside.

"The risk for the rest of the world ... is that [Chinese] growth could slow, which could knock financial confidence around the world as China is seen as the last locomotive to drive it out of the mess it finds itself in,” said Fred Neumann, co-head of Asian Economic Research at HSBC in Hong Kong, according to the Daily Telegraph.

But Mr Neumann also saw “a silver lining” from higher Chinese inflation, as it will eat into the competitiveness of Chinese exports, which may help Western manufacturers increase the amount of outbound products.