This year, various regions and sectors have been fully implementing the decisions and policies established by the Central Committee of the Communist Party and the State Council. They have systematically put into effect macro-control policies and accelerated the issuance and utilization of ultra-long special government bonds and local government special bonds. Efforts have also been made to advance large-scale equipment upgrades and encourage consumers to trade in old goods, enhancing the government’s role in stimulating investments. In the first three quarters, national fixed asset investment (excluding rural households) reached 3.78 trillion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 3.4%. When adjusted for price factors, this translates to a growth rate of 5.2%.
1. **Manufacturing Investment Accelerates**
The steady cultivation of new growth drivers continues to yield results, leading to an ongoing transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing sector. In the first three quarters, manufacturing investment grew by 9.2% year-on-year, accelerating by 0.1 percentage points compared to the January to August period and surpassing overall investment growth by 5.8 percentage points. Notably, investment in consumer goods manufacturing rose by 14.9%, equipment manufacturing by 9.4%, and raw materials manufacturing by 8.8%. Additionally, investment in manufacturing technological upgrades saw a 9.5% increase, outpacing total manufacturing investment by 0.3 percentage points.
2. **Strong Growth in High-Tech Industry Investment**
With increasing support for technological innovation and solid development of new productive forces, high-tech industry investment continues to thrive. In the first three quarters, high-tech industry investment experienced a year-on-year growth of 10.0%, exceeding the overall investment growth rate by 6.6 percentage points and maintaining double-digit growth for seven consecutive months. Specifically, high-tech manufacturing investment grew by 9.4%, slightly higher than the overall manufacturing investment. This includes significant increases in aerospace and equipment manufacturing by 34.1% and electronics and communication equipment manufacturing by 10.3%. High-tech service industry investment also rose by 11.4%, with professional technical services up by 31.8% and e-commerce and technology achievement transformation services increasing by 14.8%.
3. **Equipment Purchases Drive Overall Investment Growth**
The implementation of large-scale equipment renewal policies has yielded effective results, leading to rapid growth in investment for purchasing equipment and tools. In the first three quarters, investment in equipment and tools grew by 16.4% year-on-year, surpassing overall investment growth by 13.0 percentage points and contributing 61.6% to the total investment growth, pulling the overall investment up by 2.1 percentage points.
4. **Stable Growth in Livelihood Sector Investment**
Focusing on economic development and improving living standards, various regions have been precise in addressing gaps and weaknesses. Projects related to post-disaster recovery have progressed steadily, resulting in stable investment growth in the livelihood sector. In the first three quarters, investment in water management increased by 37.1%, accelerating by 4.5 percentage points compared to January to August; accommodation and catering sectors saw a 35.6% increase, up by 1.1 percentage points; and the production and supply industries for electricity, heat, gas, and water rose by 24.8%, with a 1.3 percentage point acceleration. Investments in air and rail transportation grew by 17.9% and 17.1%, respectively.
5. **Reduction in Real Estate Development Investment Declines**
Amid a series of measures aimed at ensuring the stable and healthy development of the real estate market, both development and sales indicators have shown some improvement. In the first three quarters, national real estate development investment fell by 10.1% year-on-year, a reduction that has narrowed by 0.1 percentage points compared to the January to August period. The decline in sales of new commercial housing has also continued to decrease, with the sales area dropping 17.1% in the first three quarters, marking a fourth consecutive month of narrowing declines and reducing by 1.9 and 0.9 percentage points compared to the first half of the year and January to August, respectively. New commercial housing sales value decreased by 22.7%, with declines also narrowing when compared to previous periods. Funding for real estate development companies fell by 20.0%, with a reduction narrowing by 2.6 and 0.2 percentage points compared to prior periods.
6. **Slight Acceleration in Private Project Investment**
As the mechanism for private enterprises to participate in major national projects continues to improve, enthusiasm for private investment remains high. In the first three quarters, investment in private projects (excluding real estate development) grew by 6.4% year-on-year, slightly accelerating by 0.1 percentage points compared to January to August. By sector, private investment in manufacturing rose by 11.6%, surpassing overall manufacturing investment by 2.4 percentage points, while infrastructure investment increased by 4.7%, exceeding total infrastructure investment growth by 0.6 percentage points.
7. **Large Projects Continue to Provide Strong Support**
In the first three quarters, investment in projects with planned total investments of 100 million yuan and above grew by 7.1% year-on-year, slightly accelerating by 0.1 percentage points compared to January to August, and exceeding overall investment growth by 3.7 percentage points. These projects contributed 3.9 percentage points to total investment growth, an improvement of 0.1 percentage points relative to earlier periods.
Looking ahead, policies to expand effective investment increments and maintain stability in existing investments should be coordinated. Efforts will focus on making full use of ultra-long special government bonds and local government special bonds, accelerating the realization of more tangible outcomes. There will also be a push for major projects outlined in the 14th Five-Year Plan and ongoing support for national strategic initiatives and key sectors. Continued emphasis will be placed on large-scale equipment upgrades, driving the transformation and upgrading of traditional manufacturing, while supporting the healthy development of private investment to promote stable growth in overall investments.
(Author: Zhai Shanqing, Director General of the Fixed Asset Investment Statistics Division of the National Bureau of Statistics)
