BEIJING - China's private fixed-asset investment recorded a slowdown in growth in the first eight months of this year, but investment structure has improved, official data showed Thursday.

In the first eight months, fixed-asset investment (FAI) by the private sector grew 6.4 percent year on year to 23.92 trillion yuan (about $3.65 trillion), the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.

The amount accounted for 60.7 percent of the total FAI, but the growth has slowed from 6.9 percent for the January-July period.

Private investment to the primary sector rose 14.6 percent in the eight-month period, followed by an increase of 8.4 percent for the service sector and 4 percent for the secondary sector.

Growth in the country's total FAI also slowed in this period, which grew 7.8 percent year on year, down from 8.3 percent for the January-July period.

FAI includes capital spent on infrastructure, property, machinery and other physical assets, but the bureau's calculation does not include FAI by farmers.

Despite a growth slowdown, China has continued to see structural improvement within FAI, according to Liu Aihua, a spokesperson with the NBS.

Rapid investment growth was seen in fields like high-tech, infrastructure and environmental protection, while transformation and upgrading in traditional industries has continued, she said.

For the private sector, FAI for water conservation, environmental protection and public facility management jumped 26.5 percent, while that in mining dropped 14.2 percent year on year in the first eight months.

The private sector contributes more than 60 percent of China's GDP growth and provides over 80 percent of jobs.

To stimulate private investment activities, the government has taken moves like streamlining investment project approvals for private investors, encouraging them to participate in major projects and introducing mixed-ownership reform in state-owned enterprises.