China’s Service Trade in Jan-Feb 2026: Narrower Deficit and Optimized Structure

According to the website of the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China, an official from the Department of Trade in Services of the Ministry of Commerce stated when introducing the development of trade in services from January to February 2026 that China’s total service imports and exports reached 1.14307 trillion yuan (RMB, the same below) in the first two months, a year-on-year decrease of 3.9%. Among them, exports stood at 442.49 billion yuan, up 4.7% year-on-year, while imports were 700.58 billion yuan, down 8.7% year-on-year. The service trade deficit narrowed by 86.52 billion yuan from the same period last year to 258.1 billion yuan.

The service trade sector showed distinct characteristics during the period, with the proportion of knowledge-intensive service imports and exports further increasing. From January to February, knowledge-intensive service imports and exports reached 486.27 billion yuan, a decrease of 3.2% year-on-year, accounting for 42.5% of the total service imports and exports, an increase of 0.3 percentage points from the same period last year, according to Securities Daily.

Specifically, exports of knowledge-intensive services rose by 2.4% year-on-year to 248.23 billion yuan, while imports fell by 8.4% to 238.04 billion yuan. Fu Yifu, a special researcher at Suzhou Commercial Bank, told Securities Daily that the growth in exports of knowledge-intensive services indicates that China’s trade in services is accelerating its transformation from traditional labor-intensive to knowledge-driven and technology-led.

Travel, other commercial services and transportation remained the top three sectors in terms of scale. Travel imports and exports reached 362.59 billion yuan in the first two months, a year-on-year decrease of 11.8%, making it the largest sector in China’s trade in services. Notably, travel exports surged by 22.5% year-on-year to 60.96 billion yuan, while travel imports dropped by 16.5% to 301.63 billion yuan, reflecting the positive effects of policies to expand inbound consumption, according to Guangming Network.

Other commercial services and transportation recorded imports and exports of 272.32 billion yuan and 212.23 billion yuan respectively. Chen Jianwei, a professor at the National Institute of Openness and Development of the University of International Business and Economics, noted that the 4.7% year-on-year growth in service exports reflects the resilience of China’s service brand competitiveness, which has effectively offset the pressure from declining imports.

It is reported that in accordance with the new version of the “International Trade in Services Statistics Monitoring System” jointly issued by the Ministry of Commerce, the National Bureau of Statistics and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange in January 2026, a new statistical method has been adopted for compiling service import and export data since January-February 2026. The new method mainly covers seven areas, including transportation services, other commercial services, financial services, construction services, telecommunications, computer and information services, personal, cultural and recreational services, and processing services.

The implementation of the new statistical system is part of China’s efforts to improve the level of statistical monitoring of trade in services, which helps to establish an internationally standardized statistical system and better reflect the development status of China’s trade in services. The narrowed service trade deficit and optimized structure fully demonstrate the steady development momentum of China’s trade in services amid complex external environments.