ECONOMY|AGRICULTURE|INDUSTRY|CONSTRUCTION|INVESTMENT IN FIXED ASSETS|TRANSPORTATION|POSTS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS|BANKING, SECURITIES AND INSURANCE|DOMESTIC TRADE|FOREIGN ECONOMIC RELATIONS

Summary

Investment in fixed assets kept fast growth. Driven by the State pro-active fiscal policy and other policies for the expansion of domestic demand, investment in fixed assets reversed the trend of significant decline in the growth rate in the previous year and showed a momentum of fast growth. Investments in fixed assets completed by all sectors of society in 2000 totaled 3,261.9 billion yuan, an increase of 9.3 percent over the previous year. In terms of different economic entities, the investment by the State-owned sector and units of other types of ownership was 2,328.4 billion yuan, up 9.2 percent; the collective sector, 473.9 billion yuan, up 9.2 percent; and urban and rural residents, 459.6 billion yuan, up 9.5 percent. Analyzed by purposes, investment in capital construction was 1,321.5 billion yuan, up 6.1 percent, that in technical updating and transformation reached 507.7 billion yuan, up 13.2 percent, and that in real estate development amounted to 490.2 billion yuan, up 19.5 percent. Investment in other areas was 942.5 billion yuan, a rise of 7 percent.

Investment structure was adjusted to some extent. Of the investment in basic industries and infrastructure facilities, the investment in agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, fishery and water conservancy was 89.3 billion yuan, up 8 percent. The investment in transportation, posts and telecommunications was 539.2 billion yuan, up 7.2 percent. The investment in industry grew at an accelerated rate, with total investments completed in the year standing at 769.9 billion yuan, an increase of 9.3 percent. There were six key projects for industrialization of high-tech achievements in the fields of information technology, biological technology and new materials, with investment totaling 13.1 billion yuan.

Motivated by the implementation of the State western development strategy, investment in the western region increased rapidly. The investment in the eastern and central areas was 1,401.5 and 543.2 billion yuan respectively, up 8.3 and 13.8 percent, while that in the western region totaled 394.3 billion yuan, up 14.4 percent, a rate 6.1 and 0.6 percentage points higher than that in the eastern and central parts.

The preferential fiscal policies such as discount rate spurred the increased investment in technical updating and transformation of enterprises and structural optimization. The proportion of investment in technical updating and transformation in the total investment rose from 15 percent in the previous year to 15.6 percent. Of the investment in technical updating and transformation, the share of investment in energy saving and raw materials rose from 4.4 percent to 4.9 percent. The share of investment in improvement of product quality was up from 5.8 percent to 7 percent.

The newly-increased annual production capacity in 2000 through capital construction projects included: 15.95 million tons of coal mining, 19.61 million tons of oil extraction, 3.3 billion cubic meters of natural gas extraction, 18.84 million kw of installed capacity of large and medium-sized generators, and 69.31 million kva of the 110,000-volt and above power transformer equipment. The year 2000 also saw the operation of 153 km of main lines of new trunk railways, 662 km of double-track railways, and 32,115 km of new highways, including 4,562 km of express highways. Newly built or expanded 10,000-ton class harbors and wharves had an annual handling capacity of 29.46 million tons of cargo, and newly added office exchanges had a capacity of 25.66 million lines. The new optical-fiber cable stretched for 300,000 km, and newly added capacity of digital cellular mobile telephone switching system was capable of accommodating 50.99 million subscribers.