China's fixed-asset investment rose 4.1 percent year on year in the first two months of 2025, 0.9 percentage points higher than the full-year growth rate of 2024, official data showed on Monday.

The investment totaled 5.2619 trillion yuan (about $734 billion) during the January-February period, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in a statement.

During the period, investment in infrastructure construction rose 5.6 percent and manufacturing investment increased 9 percent, while investment in property development decreased 9.8 percent. 

Excluding the property sector, the country's fixed-asset investment rose 8.4 percent in the first two months. 

Retail sales of consumer goods, a major indicator of a country's consumption strength, climbed 4 percent year on year in the first two months, exceeding 8.37 trillion yuan (about $1.17 trillion).

Retail sales of consumer goods excluding automobiles reached over 7.68 trillion yuan, registering year-on-year growth of 4.8 percent, according to the NBS.

(With input from Xinhua)

(Cover: A container terminal in Zhangjiagang City, east China's Jiangsu Province, February 27, 2025. /VCG)