Official data from the Ministry of Commerce shows that China's total services trade reached 3.78 trillion yuan in the first half of this year, marking an 8.3% year-on-year increase. Exports of services rose by 17.6% to 1.5 trillion yuan, while the services trade deficit narrowed by 161.4 billion yuan to 770.35 billion yuan compared with the same period last year. Behind these figures lies a significant shift in the global trade landscape, as services trade and cooperation in the services sector deepen and emerge as new engines of growth in international commerce. At the same time, these numbers reflect the improved quality and efficiency of China's services industry, which expanded by 5.2% year-on-year in the first half of the year, accounting for 59.5% of gross domestic product and ranking as the largest sector of the national economy.

So, what new trends and highlights can be identified in China's services exports?

Travel Services Exports Show Rapid Growth

In the first half of this year, exports of travel services reached 229.2 billion yuan, up 31.1% year-on-year, the fastest growth among the top five services export sectors. Travel services encompass tourism, study abroad, and medical treatment, with spending by inbound visitors on accommodation, dining, transportation, sightseeing, shopping, and entertainment in China counted as exports of travel services. In recent years, as policies such as visa-free entry and departure tax refunds have been optimized, "China Travel" and "China Shopping" have remained highly active. From July 1 this year, a new "small-amount spot-check system" for departure tax refunds took effect nationwide, under which refund applications below 10,000 yuan are subject to random inspections instead of physical verification of each item. Self-service tax refund machines have been installed at Shenzhen's Luohu port and Shenzhen Airport, supporting 13 languages and completing refund procedures in as little as two to three minutes. In the first month of the new policy, Shenzhen Customs processed 13,000 departure tax refund verification transactions involving 170 million yuan in declared amounts, representing year-on-year increases of 2.2 times and 94.1%, respectively. According to an official from Shenzhen Customs, overseas visitors are diversifying their purchases, with domestic digital products, apparel, and cultural creative items becoming popular choices alongside traditional souvenirs such as tea and silk.

As "China Travel" gains deeper traction, the itineraries of foreign tourists are expanding from first-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen to lesser-known destinations. Data from travel platform Qunar shows that in the first half of this year, international flight tickets purchased by foreign tourists covered 160 Chinese cities, including Heihe near the China-Russia border in the north, tropical Sanya in the south, Jiamusi on the eastern frontier, and Kashgar at the foot of the Kunlun Mountains in the west, adding 20 new cities compared with the same period last year. In addition, inbound visitors are staying longer. Data from homestay platform Tujia shows that in the first half of the year, foreign tourists checked into homestays across 330 Chinese cities, with an average stay of 2.8 nights, up about 10% year-on-year. During this year's summer season, the average stay for foreign visitors reached 4.7 nights. "Now, many foreign tourists are willing to explore China's smaller towns, communities, and villages, getting to know hosts and local life at homestays, spending more time to see a more authentic and diverse China," said Hu Yang, senior vice president of Tujia Homestays.

"China is fantastic. I strongly recommend everyone to go and see it," Elon Musk, CEO of American electric vehicle maker Tesla, recently wrote on social media. His mother, Maye Musk, later amplified his post, saying, "Every city in China has its own unique charm." From coming to China, to experiencing it, to falling in love with it, inbound tourism is increasingly integrating with consumption, culture, and other scenarios, becoming a new pillar of services trade growth.

Knowledge-Intensive Services Exports Exceed Half of Total

Another highlight of services trade growth is the export of knowledge-intensive services. In the first half of this year, China's exports of knowledge-intensive services reached 805.67 billion yuan, up 12.8% year-on-year, accounting for 53.5% of total services exports. XtalPi has accelerated its global business expansion, delivering an intelligent, automated drug discovery and process optimization robot laboratory to South Korea's leading pharmaceutical company JW Pharmaceutical, making key progress in strategic cooperation with an innovative U.S. biopharmaceutical company, and securing an AI drug discovery collaboration worth over 400 million U.S. dollars with an internationally renowned pharmaceutical company. "We transform our self-developed AI algorithms, tools, processes, and automated experimental capabilities into standardized, deliverable pharmaceutical and materials R&D solutions. In serving global clients, we accumulate scarce high-quality data and industrialization experience, forming a virtuous cycle of technology export, global validation, and capability iteration," said Zhang Peiyu, chief scientific officer of XtalPi. The company operates one of the world's largest "AI plus chemistry robot" clusters, serving multiple top-20 global pharmaceutical companies, collecting high-quality data 50 times more efficiently than traditional laboratories, and accelerating the clinical translation of more innovative drug candidates.

With the development of new technologies such as AI, Chinese companies are shifting from exporting technology products to exporting technology service capabilities. One emerging track in recent years is token export. Tokens, the fundamental units of AI information processing and generation, can be viewed as digital outputs formed from the conversion of electricity and computing power, serving as essential foundational resources in the AI era. Chinese companies are packaging mature domestic large-model computing power into standardized interfaces that overseas clients can access and use immediately without building their own computing infrastructure. This lightweight and efficient model of token export is gaining increasing favor among overseas enterprises. In fields such as programming, video creation, interactive entertainment, and AI-native gaming, many overseas startup teams are adopting China's Alibaba Qwen large model as their technical foundation, with its model capabilities, cost advantages, and mature cloud service system building brand trust within the global developer community.

Nurturing More "China Services" Brands

The growth of services exports reflects the rising recognition of the "China Services" brand. In recent years, Chinese service brands have accelerated their expansion into overseas markets, and the consumer concepts and cultural elements behind these brands are gaining greater understanding and appreciation. The overseas journey of a cup of milk tea is also a microcosm of the international development of Chinese brands. Mixue Bingcheng has implemented an operating model of "global standards plus regional customization," offering acai berry ice cream in Brazil, multiple sugar level options in the United States, and tropical-flavored products tailored to Southeast Asian tastes. By respecting and integrating into local cultures, the brand has brought Chinese tea drinks into the daily lives of local people, opening more than 4,000 stores across Southeast Asian countries including Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand. Chagee, meanwhile, places greater emphasis on space design and scenario expansion, opening pet-friendly stores in pet-friendly districts in the Philippines and designing its flagship store in Seoul's Gangnam district with softer fabrics and greenery to create a "serene, relaxing oasis" for busy urban customers.

From product innovation to scenario extension, the way Chinese brands go global is changing. Companies are not only focused on market coverage but also on building emotional connections with local consumers. More traditional services are also accelerating quality and efficiency improvements. In April this year, a pilot program for the integrated development of traditional Chinese medicine services consumption and services trade was launched, covering 18 regions including Beijing, Tianjin, and Hulunbuir in Inner Mongolia. Over the next three years, these pilot regions will explore innovations in TCM cultural exchange, promotion of TCM tourism routes, TCM wellness services, and food-based health products, connecting with the diverse needs of the international wellness market, creating new scenarios and business formats for TCM services consumption, and cultivating a group of well-known international TCM service brands.

From the growth of travel services to the improvement of knowledge-intensive services and the accelerated global expansion of Chinese brands, a series of data points outlines the transformation and upgrading trajectory of China's services trade. As the opening-up of the services sector continues to expand, Chinese services will participate in the global division of labor in more diverse forms, continuously activating new development momentum.