China sees steady growth in fixed asset investments in first three quarters: NBS

China has seen steady growth in fixed asset investments in the first three quarters of this year, said a leading official of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Friday.

Speaking at a press conference on China's economic performance of the first three quarters, Sheng Laiyun, deputy director of the NBS, elaborated on the fixed asset investment growth over the past three quarters by sectors and industrial tiers, with a special focus on the high-tech field.

"The scale of fixed asset investment has continued to expand, and investment in high-tech industries grew rapidly. In the first three quarters, the national fixed asset investment logged 37.9 trillion yuan (about 5.33 trillion U.S. dollars), a year-on-year increase of 3.4 percent. Excluding real estate development investment, the national fixed asset investment increased by 7.7 percent year on year," said Sheng.

By sector, infrastructure investment increased by 4.1 percent, manufacturing investment increased by 9.2 percent, and real estate development investment decreased by 10.1 percent year on year, respectively, said Sheng.

In the first three quarters, the floor area of ​​newly built commodity housing sold nationwide totaled 702.84 million square meters, down 17.1 percent year on year, and the decline rate was narrowed by 1.9 and 0.9 percentage points respectively compared with the first half of the year and the Jan-Aug period; the total sales of new commodity housing was 6.88 trillion yuan, down 22.7 percent year on year, and the decline rate was narrowed by 2.3 and 0.9 percentage points respectively compared with above mentioned periods, said Sheng.

By industry, investment in the primary industry increased by 2.3 percent, investment in the secondary industry increased by 12.3 percent, and investment in the tertiary industry decreased by 0.7 percent, year on year respectively, said Sheng.

Private investment decreased by 0.2 percent, and with the investment in real estate development excluded, private investment posted a 6.4-percent year-on-year growth, said Sheng.

Investment in high-tech industries increased by 10.0 percent year on year, of which investment in high-tech manufacturing and high-tech services increased by 9.4 percent and 11.4 percent respectively.

Compared with the same period last year, the investment in aviation, spacecraft and equipment manufacturing, and electronic and communication equipment manufacturing increased by 34.1 percent and 10.3 percent respectively, and the investment in professional technical services, e-commerce services, and technology achievement transformation services increased by 31.8 percent, 14.8 percent, and 14.8 percent respectively, according to Sheng.

China sees steady growth in fixed asset investments in first three quarters: NBS

A new batch of historical records unveiling the atrocities committed by the invading Japanese army in the 1937 Nanjing Massacre was released at a ceremony held on Friday in a museum in east China's Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province.

The massacre following the Japanese troops' capture of Nanjing, the then Chinese capital, on Dec 13, 1937, left more than 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers dead.

Friday's ceremony in the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders was just held days before the 88th anniversary of the one of the most barbaric episodes of World War II.

The released historical records include letters of Japanese soldiers, photos taken after the occupation of Nanjing by the invading Japanese army, archival records of military medics who died in the defense of Nanjing, and the English and French periodicals.

Analysts say the newly released historical records provide irrefutable evidence for restoring the truth of history and constitute a powerful rebuttal to the claims of the Japanese right-wing forces.

China releases new findings on Nanjing Massacre