China's emerging service industry has registered robust momentum of development and become an important driving force for economic growth and employment, according to the latest data about the 5th national economic census (2019-2023), released by the National Bureau of Statistics.
The data show that as of the end of 2023, there had been 26.383 million legal entities engaged in tertiary industry, increasing by 9.222 million or 53.7 percent from the end of 2018, while the number of employees in the industry had reached 264.689 million, an increase of 54.012 million or 25.6 percent.
In the five year period, the revenue of information transmission, software and information technology service, scientific research and technology service, and leasing and business service increased by 117.0 percent, 92.5 percent and 88.1 percent, respectively. The increase of new employees in the three services accounted for nearly 50 percent of the total increase in the entire tertiary industry.
The high-end development of the service industry accelerated during the 2019-2023 period, with the number of high-tech ones representing more than a quarter of the total of service industry enterprises above the designated size (an annual main business revenue of 20 million yuan and above).
The high-tech service industry enterprises registered a revenue growth of 101.5 percent in the five years, providing strong support for accelerating the formation of new quality productive forces.
China's emerging service industry sees robust growth momentum in 2019-2023: census data
Russia and Ukraine on Sunday accused each other of violating an Orthodox Easter ceasefire, as both sides reported continued hostilities despite a declared 32-hour truce.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said that its forces had launched strikes against temporary deployment sites of Ukrainian armed formations and foreign mercenaries across 38 locations before the temporary ceasefire took effect.
It also accused Ukrainian forces of violating the ceasefire 1,971 times from 16:00 Saturday Moscow time until 8:00 Sunday.
Ukrainian forces launched three nighttime attacks on Russian troop positions in two settlements in the Dnipropetrovsk region, it said, adding that Russian forces also thwarted four attempts to advance on their troop positions in the Sumy and Donetsk regions.
According to the ministry, Ukrainian strikes also targeted border regions, injuring civilians.
On the same day, Ukraine also accused Russia of violating the truce.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that 120 battles took place in the frontline over the past day, with Ukrainian air force, missile troops and artillery units having attacked multiple Russian personnel and equipment assembly areas, command posts, and other targets.
"As of 7:00 a.m. on 12 April, 2,299 ceasefire violations were recorded," said the General Staff on Facebook.
It added that Russia launched dozens of airstrikes and shelled populated areas, positions of Ukrainian troops, and border regions.
Russian troops' shelling in the border region of Sumy has resulted in casualties, the Ukrinform news agency reported.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday announced an Orthodox Easter ceasefire with Ukraine from 16:00 local time Saturday until the end of Sunday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that Ukraine intends to honor the ceasefire and will respond "strictly in kind". He added that the possibility of extending the ceasefire beyond Easter has been communicated to the Russian side.
In an interview with state television released on Sunday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia will continue its special military operation after the ceasefire expires unless Zelensky "musters the courage" to make peace.
Orthodox Easter is one of the most important religious holidays for Eastern Orthodox Christians. A similar Easter truce declared last year also saw both sides accusing each other of violations, and the ceasefire was not extended following its expiration.
Russia, Ukraine exchange accusations over Easter ceasefire violations
