Income of China's rural and urban residents has experienced a faster growth compared to the country's GDP, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Per capita income for urban residents increased to 8,856 yuan in the first half of the year, up 9.8 percent year-on-year, or 11.2 percent after adjusting for inflation, the NBS said on Monday.

Meanwhile, per capita income in China's rural areas rose to 2,733 yuan during the same period, up 8.1 percent year-on-year, according to the NBS.

The rural income growth rate comes 3.1 percentage points lower than that of urban income, but both are higher than China's GDP growth rate, which grew at 7.1 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2009.

Zhang Yongjun, an economist with the State Information Center, attributes the growth rate gap between urban and rural areas to the financial crisis, as migrant workers' income constitutes a great part of the rural income. Most migrant workers make a living through export-oriented enterprises, which have been hit hard during the ongoing global slowdown, Zhang added.

Zhang says the faster growth in income will boost spending in the next half.

Per capita income for China's urban residents was 11,110 yuan, higher than the figure for rural income in 2008.

(chinadaily.com.cn July 28, 2009)