BEIJING — China's internet sector registered steady revenue growth in the first two months of the year, data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology showed.

The business revenues of major internet and related services companies in the country amounted to 222.3 billion yuan (about $35 billion) in the January-February period, up 5.1 percent year-on-year.

The growth rate was 16.1 percentage points lower than that in 2021.

The internet data services subsector raked in 32.1 billion yuan in revenues, up 7.8 percent year-on-year.

Spending on research and development at major internet and related services companies fell slightly during the period, the ministry said.