China's service trade export expanded 14.8 percent year on year in the first eight months of this year, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday.
In the Jan-Aug period, the country's total service trade volume exceeded 5.07 trillion yuan (about 757.6 billion U.S. dollars), up 7.9 percent year on year, the ministry said.
Among them, exports neared 2 trillion yuan, while imports topped 3.07 trillion yuan, increasing 14.8 percent and 3.8 percent year on year, respectively. The deficit narrowed by 145.12 billion yuan compared with a year earlier.
In terms of structure, in the first eight months, trade in knowledge-intensive services exceeded 2.23 trillion yuan, up 6.6 percent year on year and accounting for 44 percent of the total.
Exports of knowledge-intensive services increased by 10.9 percent, making up 53.7 percent of all service exports. Among them, personal cultural and entertainment services and financial services recorded the strongest growth, at 66 percent and 21.6 percent, respectively.
"In the first eight months of this year, China's service trade exports grew significantly faster than imports, narrowing the service trade deficit and continuously enhancing the sector's international competitiveness. Knowledge-intensive services have emerged as a new driver of export growth. The export of digital content, such as games and micro dramas, has helped drive the rapid growth in exports of personal cultural and entertainment services. Meanwhile, productive services linked to goods trade have provided important support, with strong demand for international shipping, air freight and cross-border logistics driving rapid growth in both imports and exports of transportation services," said Li Jun, director of the Institute of International Trade in Services at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation.
China's service trade export surges 14.8 percent in Jan-Aug
