China's fixed-asset investment down 3.1% in H1

BEIJING -- China's fixed-asset investment went down 3.1 percent year on year in the first half of 2020, narrowing from the 6.3-percent decline in the first five months, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Thursday.

Total fixed-asset investment came in at 28.16 trillion yuan (about $4 trillion) in the first half, according to the NBS.

In breakdown, the investment in the primary industry rose 3.8 percent from the same period last year, while that in the secondary and tertiary industries went down 8.3 percent and 1 percent, respectively.

The investment in high-tech industries increased 6.3 percent in the first half, compared with the 12.1-percent decline in the first quarter, the NBS said.

Private investment decreased 7.3 percent during the period, narrowing from the 18.8-percent decline in the first quarter.

The impact of the COVID-19 epidemic was overall controllable and China's economy showed strong self-adjusting capabilities, NBS spokesperson Liu Aihua told a press conference, noting that the country's advantages in industrial system, infrastructure and market will continue to cushion the impact.

Thursday's data also showed China's investment in property development edged up 1.9 percent year on year in the first half, compared with the 7.7-percent decline during the January-March period.

The country's fixed-asset investment in June went up 5.91 percent from May, said the NBS.

Fixed-asset investment includes capital spent on infrastructure, property, machinery and other physical assets.