Economic development center moved to north

There has been a trend in recent years of the most dynamic economic growth in China shifting away from the south of the country and toward the north, said Zhang Junkuo, dean of development strategy and regional economy research at the Development Research Center of the State Council, at a recent forum on the regional innovation and development held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, Economic Observer reported (in Chinese). The momentum of northern development has been strong, said Zhang, citing the fact that Inner Mongolia has had the country's highest local gross production growth for the last five years. Zhang attributed changes in the country's geographical economic structure to the government's western development strategy and the rise of central China. Meanwhile, he said, growth in the eastern coastal areas has slowed down due to higher overall costs.