China's Service Trade Posts Steady Expansion as Travel and Transport Drive Export Growth
China's trade in services maintained steady growth in the first seven months of 2026, with travel and transport services accounting for more than half of the overall export growth.
According to China Central Television (CCTV), the country's services trade totalled nearly 4.45 trillion Yuan (about US$655.8 billion) during this period, up 8.3 percent year-on-year, as per data from the Ministry of Commerce.
Service exports rose 17.1 percent year-on-year to more than 1.77 trillion Yuan, while imports exceeded 2.67 trillion Yuan, up 3.2 percent. The country's services trade deficit narrowed by 176.33 billion Yuan to 900.25 billion Yuan.
Travel and transport services emerged as the two main drivers of export growth. Travel service exports surged 27.7 percent, while transport service exports rose 27.1 percent. These two categories contributed 22.1 percent and 29.9 percent, respectively, to the overall growth in services exports.
Knowledge-intensive services, including telecommunications, information technology, finance, intellectual property, and other business services, increased 6.6 percent to more than 1.96 trillion Yuan, accounting for 44.1 percent of China's total services trade.