China's 31 provinces, regions, and municipalities have released their GDP growth data for the first half of 2024, with 16 of them reporting year-on-year growth rates above the national average of five percent.

The Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region led the growth rate in the first half of the year, with a pace of 6.2 percent. 

It was followed by Chongqing Municipality and Xizang Autonomous Region, each recording a 6.1-percent increase year on year.

Thirteen provincial-level regions had economic output of over 2 trillion yuan ($280.2 billion) in the period, with Guangdong, Jiangsu, and Shandong at the forefront.

Furthermore, high-level opening up has continued to deepen across the nation. 

In particular, in the first half of the year, the western region of China recorded the highest growth rate in foreign trade. The value of import and export in the region reached 1.93 trillion yuan, an increase of 10.2 percent from the previous year. 

Meanwhile, trade between Hainan Province and Belt and Road participating countries increased by 40.2 percent year-on-year.

Key economic zones, including the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, have continued to drive national economic growth, collectively contributing over 40 percent to the country's GDP. 

These areas have also been pivotal in fostering the development of new quality productive forces. 

Industries such as biomedicine, artificial intelligence, new energy vehicles, and electronics manufacturing have all experienced impressive growth.

The importance of developing new quality productive forces was further stressed by the country's top economic planner. 

Zheng Shanjie, head of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), highlighted the imperative need to fully leverage innovation and tailor industry transformations in line with local conditions in order to effectively cultivate new quality productive forces, in an interview with CMG.