China's expanding demand for overseas services is creating new opportunities for foreign providers, with experts and business executives saying the trend reflects strong domestic demand and the country's continued efforts to develop a competitive services sector, promote a more balanced trade structure and deepen high-standard opening-up.
China's services trade deficit — covering sectors such as transportation, tourism, telecommunications and computing — reached 131.8 billion yuan ($19.52 billion) in June, the largest monthly deficit in three months, while the cumulative deficit totaled 770.3 billion yuan in the first half of the year, according to the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.
Guan Lixin, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing, said the widening services trade deficit reflects a more open and interconnected Chinese economy, in which services are playing a greater role in cross-border economic activities.
Guan said the increase in services imports reflects stronger demand from Chinese consumers and businesses for specialized overseas services and expertise.
Between January and June, China's trade in travel services stood at 177.3 billion yuan, followed by transportation services at 157.9 billion yuan, other business services at 146.7 billion yuan, and telecommunications, computer and information services at 73.1 billion yuan, data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange showed.
