Trade in services to help drive further growth

The sustained expansion of China's trade in services will remain a key driver of the country's broader economic growth and has emerged as a new magnet for foreign investment, said market observers and business executives.

Such resilience is underpinned by expanding domestic demand and deeper integration with global markets, they said.

In contrast to goods trade, trade in services refers to the sale and delivery of intangible services such as transportation, tourism, entertainment and professional services, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

China's trade in services maintained steady growth in the first half, with total imports and exports reaching 3.89 trillion yuan ($542.45 billion), up 8 percent year-on-year, Ministry of Commerce data showed in early August.

The continued growth of China's trade in services reflects structural shifts toward higher-value sectors, underpinned by the country's policy support, consumption and industrial upgrading, said Wang Bo, deputy director of the ministry's department of trade in services and commercial services.

Zhao Jinping, vice-president of the China Association of Trade in Services, said that amid uncertainty created by protectionism and unilateralism, strengthening service trade can be essential for China to cushion against possible headwinds and support its economic growth.

Poh-Yian Koh, president of FedEx China, said that China's ongoing efforts to widen opening-up will make trade in services a key driver of fresh competitive advantages in the years ahead.

She added that the company completed the upgrade of its international export services in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, last month.

Wei Xiang, a researcher specializing in trade in services at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, said that with China's opening-up measures creating new opportunities in modern services, multinational corporations are increasing investment in areas such as entertainment, tourism and bonded maintenance.

Bonded maintenance refers to activity in which enterprises, operating outside special Customs zones, import goods or transportation tools from overseas that have damaged components, functional failures or quality defects. These items are inspected and repaired and then reexported.

Building on this momentum, policymakers at both the national and local levels have rolled out targeted measures to accelerate the growth of bonded maintenance, aiming to shorten turnaround times, lower operational costs and strengthen the sector's role as a competitive driver within China's expanding trade in services.

Ma Tianshi, general manager of Siemens Shenzhen Magnetic Resonance, said, "The new policies enabled us to build a bonded maintenance center in Shenzhen last year, helping us better serve customers worldwide."

Previously, magnetic resonance imaging components and much high-end medical equipment could not be repaired in China, requiring shipment to Germany, with cycles exceeding a month, Ma said.

New bonded maintenance policies now cut turnaround times to five to seven days, enabling companies to meet customer needs far more efficiently, he added.

The German company's bonded maintenance center completed repairs on nearly 2,000 MRI coils and filed bonded maintenance import and export declarations for nearly 6,000 MRI component items in the first half of the year, with a total trade value of about $9.3 million.

In a further vote of confidence in the Chinese market, Sony Interactive Entertainment (Shanghai) showcased eight Chinese-developed games — including yet-to-be-released titles — at the 22nd China Digital Entertainment Expo and Conference, or ChinaJoy, held earlier this month in Shanghai.

Tatsuo Eguchi, chairman and president of SIE Shanghai, said that driven by the rapid growth of China's gaming industry and the distinctive appeal of its content, Sony is committed to expanding research and development and talent recruitment in China to drive long-term growth.