The east coast export powerhouse of Zhejiang was the only provincial-level region in China to achieve higher growth in the first quarter, when resource producers and heavy industrial bases were hit hard by tough business conditions.

As of last Friday, all 31 regional governments in the Chinese mainland had released first-quarter GDP growth data. Expansion slowed in 30 regions from that of last year, a compilation by China Daily showed.

The sharpest drop occurred in Liaoning province, where growth slumped by 3.9 percentage points to 1.9 percent. Year-on-year expansion was also the slowest among all regions.