Catalog of services imports to expand

China's latest move to unveil an updated catalog aimed at expanding services imports will provide broader market space for companies worldwide and help facilitate the efficient allocation of high-quality global services resources, said government officials and company executives on Thursday.

According to details published by the Ministry of Commerce on Wednesday, the government will encourage the import of research and development, design, testing, intellectual property and digital technology services to strengthen innovation capacity, accelerate industrial upgrading and advance the ongoing green and low-carbon transition.

The revisions were made by multiple authorities, including the Ministry of Commerce, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The head of the department of trade in services and commercial services at the Ministry of Commerce said the latest revision follows principles designed to better align services imports with China's high-quality development goals.

Priority is given to services related to urgent domestic demand that can support the development of new quality productive forces in the production sector and improve people's quality of life through enhanced consumer services, said the commerce official in a statement.

The policy document states that priority will be given to services in energy conservation, resource recycling, environmental governance and climate solutions, including pollution control, ecological restoration, carbon reduction and circular economy services that enhance sustainability and underpin high-quality development.

The catalog also promotes the import of consulting, supply chain management, green building, healthcare and rehabilitation services, with the aim of improving public well-being and modernizing governance.

Nie Pingxiang, a researcher specializing in trade in services at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing, said that by expanding imports of high value-added services, the updated catalog aims to boost China's innovation and public services while underscoring its commitment to higher-level opening-up, balanced trade and win-win cooperation.

"These measures are expected to help ease trade imbalances and foster a more balanced and sustainable international trade structure, while offering China's market opportunities to support the global green transition, digital economy development and modernization of public governance," said Nie.

China's trade in services reached 8.08 trillion yuan ($1.18 trillion) in 2025, up 7.4 percent year-on-year, while its services imports stood at 4.46 trillion yuan, rising 2.5 percent on a yearly basis, said the Ministry of Commerce.

Data also showed that China's imports of knowledge-intensive services reached 1.26 trillion yuan last year, up 1.3 percent year-on-year.

Against this backdrop, business leaders highlighted the growing role of services imports in supporting China's industrial transformation.

Noting that China's continued expansion of services imports signals its shift from a major goods exporter to a key driver of global value chain collaboration, Denis Depoux, global managing director of management consultancy Roland Berger, said that producer services are emerging as a key accelerator for the high-quality development of the real economy across China.

"In regions with strong industrial foundations, producer services should be leveraged to extend the value chains of leading manufacturing sectors both upstream and downstream, while also facilitating these chains' own transition toward higher-end capabilities and fostering a new wave of horizontal clustering," said Depoux.

Also encouraged by China's latest push to promote trade in services, Poh-Yian Koh, president of FedEx China, said the United States-based express transportation services provider will also deepen its footprint in the country.

Operating more than 300 international flights to and from China each week, Koh said that the country serves as one of the key engines of global trade and an integral part of FedEx's global strategy.

"We are dedicated to making supply chains smarter for all our customers, and strengthening connections between China and the rest of the world in the logistics sector," she said. "By leveraging our extensive global air and ground networks and smart digital solutions, we look forward to empowering Chinese customers to grow to the next level."

zhongnan@chinadaily.com.cn