Fixed assets investment increased by a large margin. Completed investment in fixed assets of the country in 2003 was 5,511.8 billion yuan (US$664.07 billion), up by 26.7 percent over the previous year (see Table 5). Of the total investment of state-owned units and units with other types of ownership, investment in eastern areas was 2,466.6 billion yuan (US$297.18 billion), up by 33.6 percent; investment in central areas was 1,009.2 billion yuan (US$121.59 billion), up by 33.1 percent and investment in western areas was 717.1 billion yuan (US$86.40 billion), up by 26.4 percent.

Table 5: Investment in Fixed Assets, 2003

Investment growth in the manufacturing sector was faster than that of other industries. Of the total investment of state-owned units and units with other types of ownership, investment in the primary industry was 115.6 billion yuan (US$13.93 billion), up by 3.7 percent, or 19.8 percentage points lower, over the previous year. Investment in secondary industry was 1,500.7 billion yuan (US$180.81 billion), up by 39.1 percent, or 16.2 percentage points higher. Of which, the investment in the manufacturing industry was 1,446.0 billion yuan (US$174.22 billion), up by 39.0 percent, or 16.8 percentage points higher. Investment in some manufacturing industries enjoyed rapid growth. Of the projects over 5 million yuan worth of investment, investment in steel production was up by 96.6 percent; electrolytic aluminum, 92.9 percent; cement, 121.9 percent; vehicles, 87.2 percent; textiles, 80.4 percent; and coal, 52.3 percent. Investment in the tertiary industry kept fairly fast growth, with a total completed investment of 2,648.0 billion yuan (US$319.04 billion) for the whole year, up by 24.2 percent, or 9.8 percentage points higher over the previous year. Investment in real estate development was 1,010.6 billion yuan (US$121.76 billion), up by 29.7 percent. The total sales of commercial buildings for the whole year reached 767.1 billion yuan (US$92.42 billion), up by 34.1 percent. Of this total, the sales to individuals went up by 35.8 percent, accounting for 92.5 percent of the total sales of commercial buildings (see Table 6).

Table 6: Newly Increased Production Capacity Through Investment in Capital Construction, 2003

Item	Unit	Value
Power generating capacity	10,000 kw	3,000
Power transformer equipment with a capacity of over 110,000 volts	10,000 kva	8,300
New trunk railways put into operation	km	1,164
Double-track railways put into operation	km	583
Electrified railways put into operation	km	615
Newly constructed highways	km	36,444
Expressways	km	4,639
Newly increased cargo-handling capacity of 10,000-ton berths at harbors	10,000 tons	8,220
Newly installed capacity of telephone switchboards	10,000 gates	6,744
Newly increased length of optical-fiber cables	10,000 km	45
Newly installed capacity of digital cellular mobile phone switchboards	10,000 subscribers	6,232

The construction of key projects progressed smoothly. The Three Gorges Project achieved its goal of impounding, opening to navigation and power generating. A further 317 kilometres of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway were completed in 2003, finishing 28.6 percent of the targeted length. The capacity of power transmission to Guangdong Province through the west-east power transmission project topped 5 million kilowatts; piping work for the west-east natural gas transmission project reached 48 percent of its total investment, with the eastern section of the project completed and starting to supply natural gas to the eastern areas of China. Four sub-projects were started under the central and eastern routes of the south-to-north water diversion project. Nineteen key projects designed to harness the Huaihe River had finished 49 percent of the total investment.

(China.org.cn March 1, 2004)