China reaps rewards from rebalancing push

The mainland's regional economies enjoyed a revival in growth in the second quarter, data from provincial governments showed, chiming with earlier figures that suggest a burst of government stimulus measures is reinvigorating activity.

Of the 30 regions and provinces that released their local gross domestic product data, 23 reported first-half growth accelerated from the first quarter. About three-quarters posted growth that was higher than the national average of 7.4 per cent in the first six months.

Growth also diverged sharply between eastern and western China. The coastal and northeastern regions fared the worst, while activity was the most buoyant in the central and western areas, where double-digit growth rates were concentrated.

Analysts said this suggested the mainland's bid to rebalance its economy was paying off.

"The growth gap is an expected result of Beijing's efforts to rebalance regional economies and let the fruits of growth be more evenly shared by the poorer inland regions," said Nie Wen, an analyst at Hwabao Trust.

In Hebei, for instance, growth stayed sluggish in the first six months, even though activity picked up to 5.8 per cent from 4.2 per cent in the first quarter.