China's service trade saw solid growth in the first half of 2025, with total imports and exports in services increasing by 8 percent year on year to reach 3,887.26 billion yuan (540 billion U.S. dollars), according to the latest official data released by the Ministry of Commerce.

Exports in services totaled 1,688.3 billion yuan (235.23 billion U.S. dollars) in the six-month period, reflecting a robust growth of 15 percent. Meanwhile, imports in services amounted to 2,198.96 billion yuan (306.37 billion U.S. dollars), up 3.2 percent over the same period last year. As a result, China posted a service trade deficit of 510.66 billion yuan (71.15 billion U.S. dollars), down by 152.21 billion yuan (21.2 billion U.S. dollars) from the first half of 2024.

Knowledge-intensive services remained a key driver of growth, with combined imports and exports in services in this category reaching 1,502.54 billion yuan (209.34 billion U.S. dollars), a 6 percent year-on-year increase. Within this category, notable gains were seen in other commercial services, which rose 3.1 percent to 639.1 billion yuan (89 billion U.S. dollars), and telecommunications, computer, and information services, which grew by a more substantial 12.7 percent to 529.38 billion yuan (73.76 billion U.S. dollars).

From January to June, exports of knowledge-intensive services stood at 865.04 billion yuan (120.5 billion U.S. dollars), an increase of 7.8 percent, while imports rose by 3.6 percent to 637.5 billion yuan (88.82 billion U.S. dollars). This resulted in a surplus of 227.54 billion yuan (31.7 billion U.S. dollars), expanding by 40.92 billion yuan (5.7 billion U.S. dollars) from the same period in 2024.

In the six-month period, travel services emerged as the strongest-growing segment, with total trade in this area reaching 1,080.29 billion yuan (150.5 billion U.S. dollars), up 12.3 percent year on year. Notably, exports of travel services skyrocketed by 68.7 percent, while imports saw a more modest rise of 5.5 percent.