The Zhitong Finance App learned that recently, the head of the Department of Trade and Services of the Ministry of Commerce introduced the development of trade in services from January to September 2026. From January to September 2026, China's total import and export volume of services was 5768.77 billion yuan (RMB, same below), an increase of 8.5% over the previous year. Among them, exports amounted to 2271.4 billion yuan, an increase of 14.8%; imports amounted to 3497.37 billion yuan, an increase of 4.8%. The service trade deficit was 1225.97 billion yuan, a year-on-year decrease of 132.66 billion yuan.
It mainly presents the following characteristics:
The growth rate of imports and exports of transport services ranked first. In January-September, imports and exports of transport services amounted to 1281.72 billion yuan, an increase of 33.9%, ranking first among all sectors, second only to travel services and other commercial services. Among them, exports of transport services amounted to 482.32 billion yuan, an increase of 29.4%; imports of transport services amounted to 799.4 billion yuan, an increase of 36.8%.
Exports of knowledge-intensive services are growing rapidly. In January-September, imports and exports of knowledge-intensive services amounted to 2532.17 billion yuan, an increase of 7.4%, accounting for 43.9% of the total import and export of services. Exports of knowledge-intensive services amounted to 1219.9 billion yuan, an increase of 11.7%, accounting for 53.7% of service exports. Among them, exports of personal cultural and entertainment services, insurance and pension services grew the fastest, with growth rates of 69.1% and 50.3%, respectively. Imports of knowledge-intensive services amounted to 1312.27 billion yuan, an increase of 3.7%, accounting for 37.5% of service imports.
This article was selected from the “Ministry of Commerce” official website, Zhitong Finance Editor: Jiang Yuanhua.