Latest figures from the Ministry of Commerce reveal that in the first half of the year, China's total service imports and exports hit 3.78 trillion yuan, marking an 8.3% year-on-year increase. Service exports alone reached 1.5 trillion yuan, up 17.6%, while the service trade deficit narrowed by 161.4 billion yuan to 770.4 billion yuan compared to the same period last year. These numbers reflect a significant shift in the global trade landscape, with deeper cooperation in services becoming a new growth engine for global trade. They also highlight the enhanced quality and efficiency of China's service sector, which grew 5.2% year-on-year and now accounts for 59.5% of GDP, solidifying its position as the nation's largest industry. What are the emerging trends and highlights in China's service exports? We take a closer look.

Travel services lead export growth

Travel service exports reached 229.2 billion yuan in the first half, a robust 31.1% increase year-on-year, making it the fastest-growing segment among the top five service export categories. This includes spending by international visitors on tourism, education, and medical care, with their expenditures on accommodation, dining, transport, sightseeing, and shopping in China counted as travel service exports. In recent years, optimized policies like visa-free entry and departure tax refunds have kept "China Travel" and "China Shopping" vibrant. Since July 1st, a new "small-amount spot-check system" for departure tax refunds has been implemented nationwide, where refund applications under 10,000 yuan are randomly sampled instead of individually verified. Self-service refund kiosks at Shenzhen's Luohu port and airport, supporting 13 languages, now process refunds in as little as two to three minutes. In the first month of the new policy, Shenzhen Customs handled 13,000 departure refund verifications worth 170 million yuan, a 2.2-fold and 94.1% increase respectively. Customs officials note that overseas visitors are diversifying their purchases beyond traditional items like tea and silk to include popular domestic electronics, apparel, and creative products. As "China Travel" deepens, foreign tourists are venturing beyond first-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen to explore niche destinations. Qunar travel data shows that in the first half, flight bookings for inbound tourists covered 160 domestic cities—from Heihe near the Sino-Russian border to Sanya in the tropical south, from Jiamusi in the east to Kashgar in the west—20 more cities than last year. Additionally, stays are lengthening. Tujia Homestay data indicates that foreign guests stayed in homestays across 330 Chinese cities, averaging 2.8 days, up 10% year-on-year, and extending to 4.7 days during the summer vacation period. "More foreign visitors are now eager to explore our smaller towns, communities, and villages, getting to know hosts and local life at homestays, spending more time to see a more authentic and richer China," says Hu Yang, Senior Vice President of Tujia Homestay. "China is fantastic. I highly recommend everyone to visit," wrote Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, on social media recently. His mother, Maye Musk, echoed the sentiment, stating that "every city in China has its unique charm." This journey of coming to China, experiencing it, and falling in love with it is integrating inbound tourism with consumption and culture, creating fresh momentum for service trade growth.

Knowledge-intensive services exceed half of exports

Another key driver of service trade growth is the export of knowledge-intensive services, which totaled 805.7 billion yuan in the first half, up 12.8% and accounting for 53.5% of total service exports. XtalPi, for instance, has accelerated its global expansion, delivering an intelligent, automated drug discovery and process optimization robot laboratory to South Korean pharma giant JW Pharmaceuticals, making key progress in a strategic partnership with a US innovative biotech firm, and securing an AI-driven drug discovery deal worth over $400 million with a major international pharmaceutical company. "We've transformed our proprietary AI algorithms, tools, processes, and automated lab capabilities into standardized, deliverable solutions for pharmaceutical and materials R&D. By serving global clients, we accumulate high-quality, industry-scarce data and industrialization experience, creating a virtuous cycle of 'technology export, global validation, and capability iteration'," explains Zhang Peiyu, Chief Scientific Officer of XtalPi. The company operates one of the world's largest "AI + chemistry robot" clusters, serving multiple top-20 global pharmaceutical firms, and collects high-quality data 50 times more efficiently than traditional labs, accelerating the clinical translation of innovative drug projects. With the growth of AI and other new technologies, Chinese companies are shifting from exporting tech products to exporting technological service capabilities. A notable new track is "token export." Tokens, the basic units of information processed and generated by AI, represent digital output converted from computing power and electricity, forming essential resources in the AI era. Chinese firms are packaging mature domestic large-model computing power into standardized interfaces, allowing overseas clients to access them without building their own infrastructure. This lightweight, efficient model is gaining popularity. Many overseas startups in programming, video creation, interactive entertainment, and AI-native gaming are now using Chinese large models like Alibaba's Qwen as their technical foundation, with its model capabilities, cost advantages, and mature cloud services building brand trust within the global developer community.

Cultivating more "China Service" brands

The growth in service exports reflects the rising recognition of the "China Service" brand. In recent years, Chinese service brands have accelerated their overseas expansion, with their underlying consumption concepts and cultural elements gaining international appreciation. The journey of a tea drink brand serves as a microcosm of Chinese brand internationalization. Mixue Bingcheng has launched açaí ice cream in Brazil, offered various sugar levels in the US, and developed tropical-flavored products for Southeast Asia. Operating on a "global standards + regional customization" model, it respects and integrates into local cultures, bringing Chinese tea drinks into daily life abroad. It now operates over 4,000 stores in countries like Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand. Chagee, on the other hand, emphasizes space creation and scenario expansion. For example, it has opened pet-friendly stores in pet-friendly areas of the Philippines and designed its flagship store in Seoul's Gangnam district with softer fabrics and greenery, creating a "tranquil, relaxing oasis" for busy urban customers. From product innovation to scenario extension, the approach of Chinese brands going global is evolving. Companies are focusing not just on market coverage but also on building emotional connections with local consumers. More traditional services are also enhancing their quality and efficiency. In April, a pilot program for the integrated development of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) services, consumption, and trade was launched, covering 18 regions including Beijing, Tianjin, and Hulunbuir in Inner Mongolia. Over the next three years, these pilot areas will explore innovations in TCM cultural exchange, tourism route promotion, wellness services, and medicinal food, catering to the multi-level needs of the international wellness market and fostering renowned TCM service brands. From the growth in travel services to the rise of knowledge-intensive services and the accelerated global push of Chinese brands, these data points paint a clear picture of the transformative journey of China's service trade. As the sector opens up further, Chinese services will participate in global division of labor in more diverse forms, continuously unlocking new growth potential.