Ministry of Commerce: From January to June, China's total import and export volume of services was 3779.75 billion yuan, up 8.3% year-on-year

The Zhitong Finance App learned that on August 4, the head of the Department of Trade and Services of the Ministry of Commerce introduced the development of trade in services from January to June 2026. From January to June 2026, China's total import and export volume of services was 3779.75 billion yuan (RMB, same below), an increase of 8.3% over the previous year. Among them, exports amounted to 1504.7 billion yuan, an increase of 17.6%; imports amounted to 2275.05 billion yuan, an increase of 2.9%. The service trade deficit was 770.35 billion yuan, down 161.42 billion yuan from the same period last year.

The original text is as follows:

The head of the Department of Trade and Services of the Ministry of Commerce introduced the development of trade in services from January to June 2026

From January to June 2026, China's total import and export volume of services was 3779.75 billion yuan (RMB, same below), an increase of 8.3% over the previous year. Among them, exports amounted to 1504.7 billion yuan, an increase of 17.6%; imports amounted to 2275.05 billion yuan, an increase of 2.9%. The service trade deficit was 770.35 billion yuan, down 161.42 billion yuan from the same period last year. It mainly presents the following characteristics:

Knowledge-intensive services account for more than half of exports. From January to June, imports and exports of knowledge-intensive services amounted to 1663.4 billion yuan, an increase of 6.7%, accounting for 44% of the total import and export of services. Exports of knowledge-intensive services amounted to 805.67 billion yuan, an increase of 12.8%, accounting for 53.5% of total exports of services. Among them, exports of personal cultural and entertainment services and intellectual property royalties grew the fastest, with growth rates of 57.2% and 44.3%, respectively. Imports of knowledge-intensive services amounted to 857.73 billion yuan, an increase of 1.4%.

Exports of travel services and imports of transport services grew rapidly. In January-June, exports of travel services amounted to 229.2 billion yuan, an increase of 31.1%, the fastest growth rate among the top five service export sectors; imports of transportation services reached 498.1 billion yuan, an increase of 30.4%, the fastest growth rate among the top five service import sectors.

This article was edited by the Ministry of Commerce, Zhitong Finance Editor: Chen Wenfang.