China's service sector registered steady growth in the first seven months of the year, with the production index up 4.7 percent year on year, said Fu Linghui, spokesman for the National Bureau of Statistics, on Monday.
Speaking at a press conference in Beijing, Fu said the sub-indexes of services production for four major industries in the sector all achieved growth in the seven-month period.
"The service sector grew steadily, with modern services enjoying a sound growth momentum. In the first seven months, the index of services production grew by 4.7 percent year on year. Specifically, that of information transmission, software and information technology services, leasing and business services, finance, and transportation, storage and postal services grew by 10.6 percent, 9.5 percent, 6.3 percent and 5.1 percent year on year respectively. In July, the index of services production increased by 4.3 percent year on year," Fu said.
"In July, the business activity index for services stood at 49.3 percent and the business activity expectation index for services reached 56.0 percent. Specifically, the business activity index for post, telecommunication, broadcast, television and satellite transmission services, and culture, sports and entertainment stayed within the high expansion range of 55.0 percent and above. In the first six months, the business revenue of service enterprises above the designated size [each with an annual main business revenue of at least 20 million yuan, or 2.78 million U.S. dollars] grew by 5.9 percent year on year," he said.
China's service sector posts steady growth in Jan-July period
China's summer movie season is gaining momentum as a diverse lineup of domestic and imported films draws moviegoers across the country, with the total box office revenue surpassing 10.1 billion yuan (some 1.49 billion U.S. dollars) as of Monday morning.
Domestic productions have taken the lead, with sports comedy film "Kung Fu Soccer," animated fantasy-comedy "All Wishes Come True" and anti-war film "Once Upon a Time in the Middle East" ranking among the top-grossing titles.
Their strong performance reflects growing audience demand for quality domestic films, while imported releases such as "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" and "The Odyssey" are adding further variety to the market.
This year's summer lineup covers a broad range of genres, including comedy, animation, sci-fi, war, suspense and action, offering audiences more choices and helping attract viewers from different age groups and with different interests.
"Since the beginning of August, a variety of domestic and international blockbusters have been released, and he moviegoer traffic has nearly doubled compared with July. The sales of film-related merchandise, themed derivative items, and even popcorn as a film-watching snack, have also increased significantly," said Bai Hang, a duty manager at a cinema in eastern Beijing's Chaoyang District.
According to film data platform Lighthouse as of Sunday, the summer box office had risen 3.2 percent year on year, while the number of moviegoer visits reached 274 million, up 5.7 percent from the previous year's corresponding period.
Chen Tao, vice dean of the School of Liberal Arts at the Renmin University of China, said that high-quality domestic productions have played a particularly important role this summer, with strong word of mouth helping turn quality content into audience demand.
This year's summer movie season runs through August 31.
China's summer box office gains momentum with diverse films
