Fifth, investment in fixed assets scaled up, and investment in high-tech industries and the social sector grew fast.
In the first three quarters, the investment in fixed assets (excluding rural households) reached 39,782.7 billion yuan, up by 7.3 % year on year, an average two-year growth of 3.8%, or a month-on-month growth of 0.17% in September. Specifically, investment in infrastructure in the first three quarters went up by 1.5% year on year, an average two-year growth of 0.4%; manufacturing increased by 14.8% year on year, an average two-year growth of 3.3%; and real estate development increased by 8.8% year on year, an average two-year growth of 7.2%. The floor space of commercial buildings sold reached 1,303.32 million square meters, up by 11.3% year on year, an average two-year growth of 4.6%. The total sales of commercial buildings reached 13,479.5 billion yuan, up by 16.6% year on year, an average two-year growth of 10.0%. By industry, the investment in the primary industry in the first three quarters went up by 14.0% year on year; the secondary industry increased by 12.2% year on year; and the tertiary industry grew by 5.0% year on year. Private investment went up by 9.8% year on year, an average two-year growth of 3.7%. Investment in high-tech industries grew by 18.7% year on year, an average two-year growth of 13.8%. Specifically, investment in high-tech manufacturing and high-tech services grew by 25.4% and 6.6% year on year, respectively. In terms of high-tech manufacturing, investment in the manufacturing of computers and office devices and in the manufacturing of aerospace vehicles and equipment grew by 40.8% and 38.5% year on year, respectively. In terms of high-tech services, investment in e-commerce services and in testing services went up by 43.8% and 23.7% year on year, respectively. Investment in social sectors went up by 11.8% year on year, with an average two-year growth of 10.5%. Specifically, investment in health and education went up by 31.4% and 10.4% year on year, respectively.
Sixth, imports and exports of goods grew fast and the trade structure continued to improve.
In the first three quarters, the total volume of imports and exports of goods was 28,326.4 billion yuan, up by 22.7% year on year. Specifically, the volume of exports was 15,547.7 billion yuan, up by 22.7%, and that of imports was 12,778.7 billion yuan, up by 22.6%. The trade balance was 2,769.1 billion yuan in surplus. In September, the total volume of imports and exports of goods was 3,532.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 15.4%. Specifically, the volume of exports was 1,983.0 billion yuan, up by 19.9%, and that of imports was 1,549.8 billion yuan, up by 10.1%. In the first three quarters, exports of mechanical and electrical products grew by 23% year on year, 0.3 percentage point higher than the overall export growth rate, accounting for 58.8% of the total exports. The imports and exports of general trade accounted for 61.8% of the total volume of imports and exports, 1.4 percentage points higher than the same period last year. The imports and exports by private enterprises grew by 28.5% year on year, accounting for 48.2% of the total volume of imports and exports.
