The scale of service import and export ranks second in the world for nine consecutive years

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, September 5th (Reporter Wang Minghao Jining) Faced with the complex and severe external environment, China's service trade adheres to innovative development, demonstrates openness and vitality, and continues to enhance its international competitiveness. According to the 2023 Service Trade Fair, China's total import and export of services reached 889.1 billion US dollars last year, an increase of 8.3% year-on-year, ranking second in the world for nine consecutive years. From "Made in China" to "Served in China", China's economy has shifted its momentum to "acceleration".

The "China Service Trade Development Report 2022" led by the Ministry of Commerce shows that the scale of China's service import and export has reached a new historical high, the scale of offshore service outsourcing has steadily expanded, and the transformation and upgrading effect is obvious. The report believes that China's service trade has become an important force in promoting foreign trade growth, building a new development pattern, and cultivating new advantages in international cooperation and competition.

In recent years, the national service industry has launched more than 1100 pilot and pilot policies and measures to expand its opening up; Comprehensively deepen the pilot program for innovative development of service trade to 28, and promote the implementation of a total of 2883 pilot tasks and measures; Continuously revising the negative list of foreign investment access, canceling or relaxing access restrictions in the service sector... The service industry and service trade have fully played the role of the "experimental field" of reform and opening up, increasingly becoming a new driving force for deepening opening up to the outside world.

Wang Shouwen, International Trade Negotiator and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Commerce, said that in the first half of this year, China's service industry accounted for 56% of GDP, contributing 66% to economic growth, and the utilization of foreign investment in the service industry accounted for 70% of China's total utilization of foreign investment. We must adhere to promoting high-quality development through high-level openness and be committed to working with countries to promote an open and shared service economy

With the acceleration of innovation in technologies such as big data, cloud computing, the Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence, China's service trade is accelerating its digital transformation. Nowadays, new formats and services such as digital culture, digital finance, internet healthcare, online education, and smart logistics are constantly emerging, greatly expanding the application scenarios of the service industry. In 2022, the export of digitally deliverable services exceeded $210 billion, accounting for over 50% of service exports.

The world economy thrives when open, and declines when closed. The innovative development of service trade has always been on the way. The Ministry of Commerce will promote accession to the CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement) and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement We will wait for more international economic and trade agreements, benchmark international high standard economic and trade rules, and take the lead in five conditional free trade pilot zones such as Beijing and Hainan Free Trade Port. We will guide foreign investment to increase investment in energy conservation, environmental protection, research and innovation, and work together to promote global trade, economic development, and inclusive growth Wang Shouwen said.