Exports, upgrading power up expansion in first half

Export-oriented provinces and municipalities sustained high-speed growth in the first half, while regions relying on smokestack industries, though still lagging behind, have gradually gathered pace as economic structures improved.

Chongqing registered 10.5 percent year-on-year growth in the first six months, top among 25 of the 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities to have released official economic data as of Wednesday.

The southwestern metropolis' growth was 3.6 percentage points higher than the nation's overall figure of 6.9 percent for the first half of this year.