BEIJING, May 18 (Xinhua) -- China's fixed-asset investment dropped 1.6 percent year on year in the first four months of 2026, official data showed on Monday.

The investment totaled 14.13 trillion yuan (about 2.06 trillion U.S. dollars) during the period, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in a statement.

Broken down by sector, infrastructure investment rose 4.3 percent year on year, while manufacturing investment increased 1.2 percent over the same period of last year, according to the NBS.

Excluding the property sector, the country's fixed-asset investment grew 1.3 percent in the first four months. Meanwhile, investment in property development slumped 13.7 percent year on year.

In the first four months, investment in high-tech industries maintained robust growth, rising 6.1 percent year on year. By sector, investment in aerospace and spacecraft manufacturing surged 17.9 percent, computer and office equipment manufacturing climbed 13.9 percent, and information services jumped 18.1 percent.

NBS spokesperson Fu Linghui told a press conference that driven by the innovation-driven development strategy, investment in intellectual property products maintained strong growth, creating favorable conditions for industrial expansion. During the period, such investment increased 8.9 percent year on year, 1 percentage point faster than the first quarter, and contributed 1.1 percentage points to overall investment growth.

Looking ahead, China still has enormous potential and room for investment growth, Fu said, adding that greater emphasis should be placed on optimizing investment structure and improving investment efficiency, so as to better leverage the pivotal role of investment in expanding domestic demand, upgrading supply, and improving people's livelihoods.