The head of the Department of Trade in Services of the Ministry of Commerce introduces the development of service trade in the first five months of 2026.

From January to May 2026, China's total service import and export volume was 3.0948 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6%. Among them, exports were 1.23046 trillion yuan, an increase of 15.9%; imports were 1.86902 trillion yuan, an increase of 0.4%. The trade deficit in services was 638.56 billion yuan, a decrease of 160.72 billion yuan compared to the same period last year. The main characteristics are as follows: Knowledge-intensive service exports grew rapidly. From January to May, the import and export of knowledge-intensive services were 1.36874 trillion yuan, an increase of 5.4%, accounting for 44.2% of the total service import and export volume. Knowledge-intensive service exports were 667.75 billion yuan, an increase of 12.2%, with the fastest growth in intellectual property royalties and personal cultural and entertainment services exports, with growth rates of 64.9% and 50.1% respectively. Knowledge-intensive service imports were 700.99 billion yuan, a decrease of 0.3%. Export of travel services and import of transportation services grew rapidly. From January to May, the export of travel services was 188.5 billion yuan, an increase of 31.3%, the fastest growth among the top five service export areas; imports of transportation services were 402.52 billion yuan, an increase of 26.7%, the fastest growth among the top five service import areas.