CCTV News: On January 27, the head of the Service Trade Department of the Ministry of Commerce introduced the development of service trade in 2024: In 2024, my country's service trade achieved rapid growth and its scale hit a new record high. The total annual import and export of services was RMB 7523.8 billion (RMB, the same below), an increase of 14.4% year-on-year. Among them, exports were 3175.56 billion yuan, an increase of 18.2%; imports were 4348.24 billion yuan, an increase of 11.8%; and the service trade deficit was 1172.68 billion yuan, a decrease of 31.43 billion yuan over the previous year. It mainly presents the following characteristics:
Knowledge-intensive service trade maintains growth. The import and export of knowledge-intensive services was RMB 2896.52 billion throughout the year, an increase of 6.5%. Among them, knowledge-intensive services exported 1657.32 billion yuan, an increase of 7.4%, personal cultural and entertainment services, telecommunications and computers and information services grew rapidly, with an increase of 39.3% and 12.2% respectively; knowledge-intensive services imports were 123.92 billion yuan, an increase of 5.4%, and personal cultural and entertainment services and intellectual property usage fees grew rapidly, with an increase of 29.5% and 8.7% respectively. The surplus of knowledge-intensive services trade was 418.12 billion yuan, an increase of 50.45 billion yuan over the previous year.
Travel services are growing the fastest. Since 2024, travel services have continued to maintain rapid growth, with annual imports and exports reaching 2051.15 billion yuan, an increase of 38.1%, making it the largest area of service trade. Among them, exports increased by 156.8%, and imports increased by 29.3%.
