Eight China provinces report slower growth

Beijing

EVEN as China continues to anchor global growth, a look under the hood reveals a divergence in regional economies that the nation's policymakers should be wary about.

Eight provincial-level regions reported slower growth in the first half of this year from the result in the first quarter, while 12 showed a pick-up. Twenty-seven of 31 had reported as of late Friday, with expansion unchanged in seven regions and the nation as a whole.

With gross domestic product figures seen as a performance report for local officials, competition has traditionally been fierce between provinces, with each trying to lure businesses and lobby for infrastructure projects. However, a crackdown on faked statistics and the move to curb local debts may be changing all that. President Xi Jinping said this month that officials are liable for bad debt-management decisions "for life". "Competition between cities and provinces has played an important role in China's growth," said Larry Hu, head of China economics at Macquari…