Economy

GDP growth leaps ahead in H1

By Wang Xiaotian (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-07-27 10:34

The outstanding performance of less-developed central and western areas in the first half of 2010 contrasts sharply with the country's more advanced regions, where there are signs of a slowdown

Related readings:  China GDP up 11.1% in 1st half of 2010  IMF raises China's 2010 GDP projection to 10.5%   HKU raises GDP growth forecast to 5.8%  NBS ups 2009 GDP total, growth rate

Guangdong province estimated a GDP growth rate of 12.7 percent while Zhejiang reported 13 percent, 2 percentage points lower than the first quarter. The growth rate in Jiangsu province slowed by 0.9 percentage points compared with the first quarter to 14.5 percent, and Beijing ranked at the bottom with 12 percent increase rate.

Sheng Laiyun, spokesman of National Bureau of Statistics, said earlier that the growth rate of fixed asset investment and industrial output in central and western areas in the first half was faster than in the east.

"The rapid growth in these regions reflected conflicts between economic recovery led by government-dominant investment and heavy industries, and necessary economic restructuring," said Wang Jun, an analyst with the China Center for International Economic Exchanges.

Wang said government infrastructure investment has become the major driving economic growth in central and western areas but led to a wider gap between development of heavy and light industries, which has exacerbated the long-standing structural imbalance.

"From these figures, we can see there has been no substantial change in the economic growth pattern. The central government needs to do more to ensure economic restructuring really takes place," he said.

But Li Xunlei, chief economist with Guotai Junan Securities, said that the figures prove that the policies adopted by the central government to boost growth in less-developed inland regions "have worked".

"Sound economic growth in central and western areas stimulated by the government will help to narrow the development gap between the west and east."

Li added: "I hope the central government can offer more money for these areas to improve living conditions, for example healthcare, and encourage the private sector to play a bigger role in these regions."