The eastern region of China took a lead in the country's economic growth during the first quarter of this year, with the regional gross domestic product (GDP) increasing 5.6 percent year on year.
In specific, the GDP growth rate in Jiangsu, Shandong, Zhejiang and Beijing all surpassed 6 percent during that period.
In other parts of China, in the first quarter, the GDP of the western region was 6.33 trillion yuan (about 891 billion U.S. dollars), up 5.2 percent year on year. Meanwhile, both the imports and exports of that region ranked first nationwide.
In the first three months, the GDP of the central region recorded a growth of 4.7 percent to reach 6.31 trillion yuan (about 889 billion U.S. dollars). Moreover, the region experienced rapid development in the upgrading of manufacturing industry.
"Both the two regions (central and western regions) exhibited robust growth momentum in terms of GDP and the development of new growth drivers, especially in the strategic emerging industries. This is of great significance for those regions to enhance their self-sustaining development, and narrow their gap with developed regions," said Zhou Yiren, director of the Institute of Spatial Planning and Regional Economy under the National Development and Reform Commission.
Out of the 31 provincial-level regions in China, 29 have released their economic data of the first quarter. Northeast China's Jilin Province stood out with an impressive GDP growth rate of 6.5 percent, taking the lead in economic performance.
During the first quarter, the combined GDP of the five major coastal provinces -- Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shandong, Zhejiang, and Fujian -- reached 11.7 trillion yuan (about 1.65 trillion U.S. dollars), accounting for nearly 40 percent of the national total.
Eastern region leads China's Q1 economic development with 5.6 pct GDP growth
