China's fixed-asset investment (FAI) posted a strong rebound in the first quarter of 2021 with continued improvement in investment structure, official data showed Friday.

The FAI went up 25.6 percent year on year to 9.6 trillion yuan (about 1.47 trillion U.S. dollars) in the first three months, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The double-digit growth was largely driven by a low base of comparison early last year when COVID-19 paralyzed economic activities in China. Compared with the 2019 level, FAI growth came in at 6 percent.

Investment by the state sector went up 25.3 percent during the January-March period, while private-sector investment rose 26 percent.

On a month-on-month basis, FAI rose 1.51 percent in March.

Investment in the primary industry went up 45.9 percent year on year in the first three months, while that in the secondary industry rose 27.8 percent. Investment in the tertiary industry added 24.1 percent.

Meanwhile, investment in high-tech manufacturing and services jumped 41.6 percent and 28.6 percent year on year, respectively.

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