Official data points to robust growth in China’s trade in services for the period from January to May of 2018.
During the period from January to May China’s total trade in services reached 2.10247 trillion yuan, for a year-on-year increase of 12%, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Commerce.
Services exports were 691.53 billion yuan, for an increase of 13.3%, while imports were 1.41094 trillion yuan, for a rise of 11.4%, and a trade in services deficit of 719.41 billion yuan.
China’s services industry productivity index also saw a year-on-year rise of 8.1% for the January-May period, pushing trade in services growth 3.2 percentage points ahead of trade in goods for the same period.
Trade in services accounted for 15.3% of total foreign trade, for an increase of 0.7 percentage points compared to the same period last year.
A Ministry of Commerce official said that China’s international competitiveness was gradually expanding from manufacturing to services in the wake of supply-side structural reforms, and that in future China’s trade in services would continue to enjoy robust growth momentum.
