China's fixed assets investment totaled 11.6246 trillion yuan (US$1.66 trillion) in the first nine months, up 27.0 percent from the same period last year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Monday.

The growth rate was 0.7 percentage points higher than the first half of this year, or 1.3 percentage points higher than the year-earlier level.

Investment in urban areas grew 27.6 percent to 9.9871 trillion yuan, 1.2 percentage points higher than the same period of last year, and rural fixed assets investment rose 23.3 percent to 1.6375 trillion yuan, 2.1 percentage points higher.

Statistics from the NBS showed urban fixed asset investment rose 22.7 percent in China's eastern areas, 35.4 percent in the central areas and 29.5 percent in the western regions.

In the field of urban fixed asset investment, the growth rate in the primary sector was 62.8 percent, compared with 30.2 percent in the secondary sector and 24.8 in the tertiary sector.

Zhang Xiaojing, an analyst with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said investment in September grew "at a relatively faster pace", which reflected the government's greater efforts of strengthening investment.

He said investment in the real estate sector could slow down by a large margin in September. The figure was not disclosed by the NBS on Monday.

He held it was essential to power the country's economic growth by the engine of investment against the backdrop of a slackening world economy and weakening external demands.

"The growth in the first nine months was still not high enough," said NBS Chief Economist Yao Jingyuan.

Zhang Liqun, a researcher with the Development and Research Center of the State Council, warned that the investment could easily go overheated and should be carefully kept at a rational pace.

(Xinhua News Agency October 20, 2008)