China approves projects worth $10b in October

China's top economic planner approved 16 fixed-asset investment projects with total investment reaching 66.6 billion yuan (about 10 billion U.S. dollars) in October. The projects were mainly in the energy, transportation and high tech industries, according to Meng Wei, spokesperson with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

They included a high-efficiency, low-carbon gas turbine testing apparatus project, Meng said.

This project will play a significant role in supporting the country's independent development of the aviation, electricity and shipping sectors, he added.

Fixed-asset investment is an important driver of economic growth for China, though the country is trying to shift to momentum that relies more on consumption.

Fixed-asset investment grew 7.3 percent year on year in the first 10 months of this year, down from 7.5 percent for the January-September period, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.