SHANGHAI, China (AP) -- China's National Statistics Bureau has reported that spending on real estate and other fixed urban assets rose 27.3 percent in the first seven months of the year compared with the same period a year ago, accelerating amid reconstruction of areas devastated by May's earthquake.
The bureau's report Friday says investment in construction, factory equipment and other such assets totaled 7.2 trillion yuan (US$1.1 trillion) in January-July.
The growth rate was above the 26.8 percent rise in such spending in the first half of the year.
Construction spending also increased amid efforts to rebuild following the May earthquake that killed nearly 70,000 people and left 5 million homeless.
