China has released its provincial gross domestic product numbers for the first quarter this year. Most provincial regions have seen their GDP grow faster than the national average of 6.7 percent in the first 3 months. Zhong Shi joins me now in the studio to break down the numbers for us.

Q1. China’s national GDP grew 6.7% in the first quarter, well within the 6.5%-7% target range set for this year. How did individual provinces do in that time period?

A1. They did pretty good. Most of the provinces or provincial regions that have released their data, or 24 of them to be exact, beat the national growth average of 6.7%. Chongqing and Tibet have come out on top with 10.7%, followed by Guizhou with 10.3%. It’s worth mentioning that the 4th spot goes to Hainan, which has more than doubled its growth rate in a year to reach 9.7%. Analysts say that the island province’s service sector grew almost 14% in the first quarter, a major force behind its robust growth momentum. Yunnan, Hebei and Jilin provinces have registered lower-than-national-average growth rates, with Jilin at the very bottom. Experts say this marks a good start to the year, and shows the government’s support policies have clearly proved effective. But the economy is still rather fragile, and this in no way signals a solid rebound.

Q2. China’s real estate sector has seen some serious growth in this time period. We’ve seen a hike in transaction as well as investment. Is it fair to say that national and regional economies were picked up by growth in the property market?

A2. Well, the numbers do tell us that GDP growth looks stronger where the property market has performed strongly in the first quarter. The amount of land that property developers purchase and the capital they invest in the sector are two major indicators of how well the sector is faring. Both indicators look good in the first quarter. In Guangdong province for example, investment is up. Newly constructed floor area is up. Residential property sales are up considerably, almost 65% year on year. But real estate is not the only driver of the growth. Despite a rather modest volume, Guizhou province has seen remarkable growth in its GDP. And that’s propped up by its plan to build the province into a national big data service center. It’s in line with China’s innovation drive and an example where new growth points can prove powerful in boosting the economy. That being said experts point out that the whole year’s growth outlook will depend on whether support policies will be consistent, how the real estate sector will perform and how successfully the country cuts overproduction.