Politics, not economics, is in command in China. But two recent decisions to defy the market may come back to haunt the leadership: price fixing for key commodities and the block on Singapore’s bid for a major stake in China Eastern Airlines. It was not the first time and will not be the last that a government has tried to order the tides to recede. But if ever there was a sign of growing alarm among China’s leaders at the threat of inflation, it was the January 9 announcement aimed at stopping price rises by decree, a vain hope that somehow market forces can be leashed and the country can return to a command economy.