Government to banks: Increase investment

The nation's top planning authority pledged on Wednesday to adopt more proactive measures to expand investment in order to sustain the economic recovery.

Following the new lending boom in the first quarter, the government will actively encourage commercial banks to issue credit and attract investment from the private sectors in the second and third quarters, when more construction projects are expected to start, according to a statement by the National Development and Reform Commission.

Fixed-asset investment surged 10.7 percent year-on-year during the first quarter, as government-led investment in infrastructure construction "played a vital role", the statement said.