In the January-October period, China's total import and export of goods expanded 0.03% year on year to 34.32 trillion yuan, according to customs statistics. Exports grew 0.4% year on year to 19.55 trillion yuan in the period, while imports declined 0.5% from a year earlier to 14.77 trillion yuan. In October alone, the country's foreign trade climbed 0.9% year on year to 3.54 trillion yuan, reinforcing the upward trend in monthly imports and imports.
During the 2023 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), the Forum on Development of Trade in Services was held under the theme "Accelerating High-Quality Development of Trade in Services through High-Level Opening-Up" at China National Convention Center in Beijing on September 3. At the forum, You Jun, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee and secretary of the Education Work Committee of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, revealed that in 2022, Beijing's total service imports and exports reached nearly one trillion yuan and its trade in services accounted for 21.4% of its foreign trade, nine percentage points higher than the national average. The strong growth momentum of Beijing's service industry and service trade has infused more stability into its social and economic development.
China's service imports and exports grew 8.3% year on year to 889.1 billion yuan in 2023, ranking second in the world for the ninth consecutive year, according to Xinhua News Agency's report during the 2023 CIFTIS. China is seeing an accelerated shift of its primary growth driver from "made in China" to "services by China".
The Report on China's Development of Trade in Services (2022) compiled under the leadership of the Ministry of Commerce shows that last year, China's service imports and exports reached a record high, the scale of offshore service outsourcing was steadily expanded, and the transformation and upgrading had yielded remarkable positive results. The report points out that service trade has become an important means for China to promote foreign trade growth, build a new development paradigm, and foster new advantages in international cooperation and competition.
In recent years, more than 1,100 pilot policies and measures have been introduced to boost the development of the Integrated National Demonstration Zone for Opening up the Services Sector; the number of pilot areas selected to deepen comprehensive innovative development of trade in services has increased to 28, and a total of 2,883 pilot tasks and measures have been carried out; China has revised the negative list for foreign investment several times, lifting or easing restrictions on foreign investors' access to Chinese service industries. The services sector and service trade, as test beds for China's reform and opening-up, are becoming a new driving force for the country to expand opening-up.
