Provincial authorities across China have recently published a generally upbeat picture of economic data, with over half of the 31 provincial-level regions in the Chinese mainland reporting their GDP growing faster than the average national level.
Facing the complex and challenging situation at home and abroad, China's economy withstood the pressure and demonstrated a momentum of steady recovery in the January-June period of this year.
In the first half of 2024, the country's gross domestic product (GDP) reached 61.7 trillion yuan (about 8.49 trillion U.S. dollars), with a year-on-year growth rate of five percent, reaffirming its role as a vital engine for global economic growth.
In the first six months, 13 of the provincial-level regions saw their GDP surpass two trillion yuan (280 billion U.S. dollars). Among them, the Top Three players were the economic powerhouses of Guangdong (6.52 trillion yuan, or 910.6 billion U.S. dollars) in south China, and Jiangsu (6.33 trillion yuan, or 884 billion U.S. dollars) and Shandong (4.67 trillion yuan, or 652.2 billion U.S. dollars) in east China.
East China's Zhejiang Province, the fourth largest GDP contributor, also saw its GDP reach the four-trillion yuan (558-billion-U.S.-dollar) milestone for the first time, adding over 200 billion yuan (27.9 billion U.S. dollars) in growth.
In terms of the GDP growth rate, 16 of the provincial-level regions, including Jiangsu, Shandong and Zhejiang, exceeded the national average of five percent, with Inner Mongolia leading the pack at 6.2 percent.
Chongqing Municipality and the Xizang Autonomous Region in southwest China were closely behind at 6.1 percent.
From January to June, China's three major economic engines, namely the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area in north China, the Yangtze River Delta area in east China, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area city cluster in south China, continued to dominate, accounting for over 40 percent of the national GDP.
The Yangtze River and Yellow River basins also showed the benefits of green, low-carbon and high-quality development, making up over 60 percent of the national economy.
Positive economic signs spotted across Chinese provinces in January-June: official data
Positive economic signs spotted across Chinese provinces in January-June: official data
Positive economic signs spotted across Chinese provinces in January-June: official data
Positive economic signs spotted across Chinese provinces in January-June: official data
The targeting of Lebanese citizens in simultaneous pager explosions in the Arab state has provoked rapid and widespread international condemnation and marked an extremely concerning escalation in the Middle East.
At least nine people were killed, and over 2,800 others, including Hezbollah members, were wounded on Tuesday in different areas of Lebanon as their pagers exploded, said Hezbollah officials.
Elnashra news website reported that the son of Hezbollah parliamentarian Ali Ammar was among those killed, and Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani was among the injured.
Israeli military targeted the batteries of these pagers, leading to their explosions, said the report, adding the injured were being transferred to hospitals.
In a statement, Hezbollah said it is conducting security and scientific investigations to identify the reasons behind these explosions, adding that the group is "at the highest level of readiness to defend Lebanon and its people."
Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said they deeply regretted any civilian deaths. Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the current UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon, expressed in a statement that the attack "marked an extremely concerning escalation" in the conflict.
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday strongly condemned the "terrorist action by Israel," and expressed solidarity and extended condolences to Lebanon, voicing Iran's readiness to provide assistance to treat the injured or transfer them to Tehran.
On the same day, Jordan's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi also noted the country's readiness to provide any necessary medical assistance to the Lebanese and emphasized the urgent need for de-escalation in the Middle East.
In addition, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty reiterated his warning of the potential for escalating regional conflict into a full-scale regional war in the Middle East.
During a press briefing at the State Department on Tuesday, U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the U.S was not involved in the incidents and did not know who was responsible. He also stressed that civilians must never be the target of military operations.
On Wednesday, Hezbollah once again issued a statement regarding the pager explosions that occurred on the Sept 17, extending condolences to the victims and their families. According to the statement, Hezbollah pledged to retaliate against Israel and planned to launch military operations on Israeli targets as usual on the Sept 18.
Deadly pager blasts in Lebanon provoke widespread condemnation
