File Photo: VCG

BEIJING, April 17 (Xinhua) -- China's fixed-asset investment (FAI) declined 16.1 percent year on year to 8.41 trillion yuan (about 1.19 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first quarter of 2020, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Friday.

The fall narrowed by 8.4 percentage points comparing with the decrease in the first two months.

The FAI in March went up 6.05 percent from February.

In breakdown, the FAI in the primary industry dropped 13.8 percent year on year in the first quarter, while that in the secondary and tertiary industries went down by 21.9 percent and 13.5 percent, respectively, according to the NBS. 

The decline in the three industries narrowed by 11.8 percentage points, 6.3 percentage points and 9.5 percentage points, respectively in the first quarter comparing with the fall in the first two months.

Private investment decreased 18.8 percent to 4.78 trillion yuan during the period, and investment in high-tech industries dropped 12.1 percent in the first quarter, NBS data showed.

The FAI includes capital spent on infrastructure, property, machinery and other physical assets.