BEIJING — Fixed asset investment (FAI) in China’s nonferrous metal sector edged up 1.2 percent year-on-year in 2018, official data showed.

Investment in mining and beneficiation fell 8 percent year-on-year while the smelting and processing subsector reported a 3.2-percent year-on-year FAI increase, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information.

Last year’s investment shifted its focus from output expansion to upgrading environmental protection and safety control technologies as well as research and development of high-end materials and new technologies.

However, the sector is facing rising costs, lukewarm demand and glut output of some low-end processing fields, the ministry observed.

China will speed up the development of new materials and new business models in the nonferrous metal sector by building a database and a testing and evaluation center in 2019.

Efforts will also be made to promote making the industry smarter and greener, while a tight grip will be kept on the new production capacity of electrolytic aluminum, the ministry said.