China's northeast may see better economic performance in the second half

 The economic conditions in China's northeast are likely to improve during the second half of the year, an official said on Monday.

There have been signs of improvement in the northeast provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning after completion and construction of major infrastructure projects, said Li Pumin, secretary general of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top economic planning agency.

Once China's industrial base, the northeast has been hit hard by economic slowdown.

Of all 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions on the Chinese mainland, the three northeast provinces were among the four with the weakest expansion in the first half of 2015. With a stunningly-low growth of 2.6 percent, compared with the national average of 7 percent, Liaoning was in last place.

Eighty out of the 139 major projects planned for the region since last August have either been completed or are under construction, said Li.

These 80 projects, with an investment of 568 billion yuan (89 billion U.S. dollars), have laid a good foundation for the revival of the region, he said.

The NDRC is working on policies that aim to "comprehensively revive" old industrial bases, including the northeast, Li added.

These policies will focus on a better management of resource exploitation in these regions, with an emphasis on environmental protection and enabling them to share the benefits of growth.