China's regions can match developed nations

Guangdong, Jiangsu and Shandong surpass some OECD countries

BEIJING - Although China as a whole is still a developing country, some of the Chinese provincial regions, if viewed as independent countries, can be ranked among the world's top developed economies, according to a report published on Monday.

That signals China's accelerating pace of growth, a nation that overtook Japan as the world's second-biggest economy last month.