National Business Daily:

Fixed-asset investment data is closely watched. How do you view the fluctuations in the investment growth rate in May? What are the new characteristics in the investment structure? Thank you.

Fu Linghui:

Thank you for your questions. Changes in investment have attracted widespread attention. Changes in investment growth need to be viewed comprehensively, objectively and dialectically. Observing these changes requires looking not only at the total amount and scale but also at investment structure, quality and returns. The decline in fixed-asset investment widened from January to May. This partly reflected high temperatures and heavy rainfall in some areas, and partly reflected the transition from old to new growth drivers and the shift of investment from expansion in quantity to improvement in quality. Despite the slowdown in investment growth, continued policy support, stronger innovation and greater livelihood safeguards have driven ongoing optimization of the investment structure. Investment has played an irreplaceable role in strengthening the foundation for growth, driving transformation and improving people's livelihoods. This is primarily reflected in the following aspects:

First, infrastructure investment maintained steady growth. Infrastructure is a key guarantee for facilitating the flow of production factors, promoting economic development and improving people's livelihoods. Since the start of this year, a number of major infrastructure projects have continued to advance, and construction of infrastructure such as the six networks of water, electricity, computing power, telecommunications, urban underground pipelines and logistics has accelerated. In the first five months of this year, infrastructure investment maintained a slight growth of 0.6%. The construction of a comprehensive, multidimensional transportation system has accelerated, and the transportation and logistics network has continued to improve. Investment in transportation, warehousing and postal services rose 7.1% in the January-May period. Among them, investment in water transport and air transport increased 23.3% and 21.7%, respectively. All sectors are seizing opportunities presented by the new round of technological transformation. Development of new infrastructure projects, such as computing power networks and next-generation telecommunication facilities, has progressed steadily. In the first five months of this year, investment in the information transmission industry rose 30.4%.

Second, investment in emerging industries grew rapidly. Innovation has played a leading role, and rising demand for boosting, upgrading and transforming emerging industries has driven increased investment in related fields. This has both expanded room for investment growth and injected strong momentum into cultivating new industries and fostering new growth drivers. Innovation-driven development has yielded significant results. In the first five months of this year, investment in intellectual property products rose 9.3% year on year, 0.4 percentage point faster than in the January-April period, contributing 1.1 percentage points to overall investment growth. Investment in high-tech industries maintained strong growth momentum. Investment in high-tech industries rose 4.5% year on year from January to May. Artificial intelligence and new energy developed rapidly, and investment in related industries grew quickly in the first five months. From January to May, investment in integrated circuit manufacturing and lithium-ion battery manufacturing increased 11% and 24.9%, respectively, while investment in information services rose 13.8%. Large-scale equipment renewal policies effectively drove enterprise transformation and upgrading. In the first five months of the year, investment in equipment and instrument purchases rose 9.3%.

Third, investment in areas related to public well-being continued to increase. China adheres to the principle of safeguarding and improving people's well-being in the course of development, placing greater emphasis on integrating investment in physical assets with investment in people. Investment in agriculture and rural areas, public facilities, and ecological and environmental protection has continued to increase. Investment related to rural revitalization grew rapidly. From January to May, investment in agriculture and fisheries in China rose 10.7% and 27.5%, respectively. Investment in urban renewal and improvement of the living environment maintained steady growth. From January to May, investment in ecological protection and environmental governance rose 3.5%. This year, the central government allocated 97 billion yuan in special funds to support urban renewal. These funds are expected to improve living conditions and benefit more residents.

Looking ahead, China still has ample room for investment. New urbanization, rural revitalization, the development of new quality productive forces, and the improvement of public services all require investment support, to lay a solid foundation for high-quality development. In this regard, we should leverage the guiding and driving role of government investment, stimulate the vitality of private investment, and adhere to the principle of closely integrating investment in physical assets with investment in people. We must pay more attention to optimizing the investment structure and improving its efficiency, and better leverage the important role of effective investment in driving high-quality development. Thank you.