BEIJING, March 14 (Xinhua) -- China's fixed-asset investment grew 7.9 percent year on year in the first two months of this year, up from 7.2 percent for the full year of 2017, new data showed Wednesday.

Total investment from January to February stood at 4.46 trillion yuan (about 700 billion U.S. dollars), the National Bureau of Statistics said on its website.

Spokesperson Mao Shengyong said at a press conference that the fixed-asset investment continued its steady growth and the investment structure improved.

Private investment rose 8.1 percent to 2.7 trillion yuan, accounting for more than 60 percent of the total investment.

Investment into the agricultural sector surged 27.8 percent in the first two months, up by 16 percentage points from 2017. Investment in the industrial sector rose 2.4 percent, while that in the service sector rose 10.2 percent, the data showed.

Investment in high-tech manufacturing was 3.4 percentage points higher than total investment growth, showing better investment structure.

The bureau's calculation does not include investment by farmers. It includes projects with planned investment of more than 5 million yuan, as well as all property development.

The new data also showed that property development investment expanded 9.9 percent year on year in the first two months, up from 7 percent for 2017.