The growth was slightly lower than the 24.7 per cent recorded in September due to the decline in infrastructure investment, the bureau said in a statement.

For the first 10 months, fixed assets investment reached 2,286.9 billion yuan (US$275.5 billion) - an increase of 24.1 percent compared with the same period last year.

Investment in infrastructure rose a year-on-year 24.1 percent to 1,204.1 billion yuan (US$145 billion) during the period.

Investment in technical upgrades and real estate grew a year-on-year 16.7 percent and 29.8 percent respectively to 429.4 billion yuan (US$51.7 billion) and 558.8 billion yuan (US$67.3 billion).

For the past four years, China has been investing heavily in infrastructure and other public projects in an attempt to lift economic growth.

The central government also took a series of measures to stimulate investment from private firms and foreign-funded companies.

China's fixed assets investment, spurred mainly by State treasury bonds, has played and will continue to play a leading role in the country's economic development, said Hu Shaowei, a senior economist with the State Information Center.

Experience gained from developed countries suggest that if a country's fixed assets investment grows at a higher rate, the country's GDP growth will be higher, he said.

During the first nine months of this year, China's gross domestic product grew a year-on-year 7.9 percent.

(China Daily November 19, 2002)