THE Chinese economy maintained stable expansion in the first half (H1) of 2024, with more than half provincial-level regions across the country showing a stepped-up recovery trajectory over the period, which was fueled by robust industrial growth, new drives from the creation of new quality productive forces and comparatively strong external demand, provincial government data showed.

A total of 16 provincial-level regions saw their gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate higher than the national average of 5 percent in the first half. The output of both south China's Guangdong and east China's Jiangsu provinces exceeded 6 trillion yuan ($913.64 billion), ranking top two among all provinces, relevant data showed.