(Source: CGTN)

Chinese officials say the country's industrial sector was off to a good start in the first quarter. China's industrial production expanded at a faster pace, with the value-added output rising 6.8 percent year-on-year in the first three months, up from 6.3 percent for January and February.

And two of China's northeastern provinces, known as the country's heavy industry bases, showed signs of economic recovery in the first quarter of 2017. The GDP growth of Liaoning Province turned to the positive at 2.4%, and the growth rate of Heilongjiang Province hit 6.1%, one percentage point higher than the growth of the same period last year.

Chinese authorities have also recently mapped out a plan to support transformative development of 12 industrial cities and economic zones.