China's economy continued steady expansion in the first half of this year with GDP up 6.9 percent year on year to about 38.2 trillion yuan ($5.6 trillion), according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

 

Breaking down the national figures, provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities have published their own regional economic data.

 

Analysts say the data reflects new-found vitality in regional economies, unleashed by economic restructuring, which includes promoting consumption-led and innovation-driven growth, de-stocking outdated capacity, cutting corporate costs and deleveraging.

 

"We all know the Chinese economy has been an L-shaped growth shape. Many people ask when the downward stroke ends. Now if we look at the economic data and its connotation, the economy has entered a horizontal stroke and turned toward stable growth," said Yao Jingyuan, a research fellow at the Counsellors' Office of the State Council.

 

 

Western provinces and regions such as Tibet, Guizhou, Yunnan, Ningxia, Sichuan and Shaanxi have stayed in the top ten fastest-growing regional economies in China.

 

"The central and western provinces have developed well in recent years. Though they are late-movers compared with eastern counterparts, they have fared rather well economically," Yao said.