BEIJING, April 18 (Xinhua) -- China's fixed-asset investment saw steady growth in the first quarter (Q1) of this year, bolstering overall economic growth, official data showed Monday.
Fixed-asset investment jumped 9.3 percent from a year earlier to 10.49 trillion yuan (about 1.65 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first three months, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement.
The growth slowed from a 12.2-percent increase registered in the first two months. In March, fixed-asset investment increased 0.61 percent from a month earlier.
In Q1, fixed-asset investment from the private sector increased 8.4 percent from a year earlier to 5.96 trillion yuan, accounting for more than half of the total.
Investment into the high-tech manufacturing and high-tech services sectors saw notable growth, jumping 32.7 percent and 14.5 percent year on year in the first three months.
The healthcare and education sectors also saw above-average growth, the data showed.
Investment has traditionally been a key engine for growth. In the first two months of this year, China's fixed-asset investment saw a rapid recovery, with manufacturing and infrastructure investment leading the upward momentum.
While COVID-19 resurgences weighed on investment growth in March to some extent, the country has the toolbox to keep investment stable, said the country's top economic planner at a press conference last week.
The country plans to issue a total of 3.65 trillion yuan of special-purpose bonds for local governments in 2022, while 1.2 trillion yuan of such bonds issued in the fourth quarter last year are also expected to shore up investment.
China will also incentivize investment from the private sector and encourage private companies to take part in the country's major projects, said Ou Hong, an official with the National Development and Reform Commission.
Monday's data also showed that China's gross domestic product grew 4.8 percent year on year in the first quarter of this year.
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