Nation's value added in the service sector grew 5.2 percent year-on-year, 0.5 percentage points faster than overall economic growth. Retail sales of services rose 5.3 percent year-on-year. In the first half of the year, the service sector expanded steadily, playing an important role in supporting industrial upgrading and meeting people's livelihood needs.

Wang Quanzhong, director of the NBS Department of Trade and External Economic Relations Statistics, said the combined effects of various policies to boost consumption have…

A staff member trains a robot to arrange items in a supermarket scenario at Maniformer, a physical AI data service platform, in Shanghai, East China, Aug 5, 2026. [Photo/Xinhua]