China’s imports of services climbed 8.9% year on year to 2.61 trillion Yuan (about 378 billion U.S. dollars) in the first 9 months of 2018, data showed on November 6. Service exports rose 14% to 1.27 trillion Yuan during the period, leading to a trade deficit of more than 1.33 trillion Yuan, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce. Foreign trade in emerging services, which accounts for 33% of the domestic total, increased 20.1% to 1.28 trillion Yuan for January-September. The ministry said economic transformation has boosted the imports of high-end producer services, with imports of financial services and charges for the use of intellectual property up 22.1% and 24%, respectively, during the January-September period. The country’s cumulative service imports are expected to exceed 2.5 trillion U.S. dollars in the next 5 years, according to a report released by the ministry. China’s service imports will account for more than 10% of global service imports, contributing over 20% to total global growth in the coming 5 years.

Source: China.org.cn