BEIJING - China's top economic planner approved 227 fixed-asset investment projects with a total investment of 1.7044 trillion yuan ($247 billion) in 2016, official data showed Thursday.

In December 2016, a total of 23 fixed-asset investment projects were approved with a total investment of 184 billion yuan, said Zhao Chenxin, spokesperson of the National Development and Reform Commission, during a press conference.

China's fixed-asset investment in the first 11 months grew 8.3 percent year on year, unchanged from the January-October period, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The investment structure was improved, with more money spent on high-tech and service sectors, while less money went into industries with high energy consumption or excessive capacity, according to the bureau.

Fixed-asset investment includes capital spent on infrastructure, property, machinery and other physical assets.