On February 12, official from Department of Trade in Services and Commercial Services made a statement on related situations about China’s service trade in 2018.

　　2月12日，商务部服贸司负责人介绍了2018年全年我国服务贸易有关情况。

　　Official from MOFCOM Department of Trade in Services and Commercial Services said that in 2018, the scale of China’s import and export of trade in services hit a record high with its structure continuously optimized and quality obviously improved. The major features of the development of service trade were as follows:

　　商务部服贸司负责人表示，2018年，我国服务进出口规模创历史新高，结构持续优化，质量明显提升，服务贸易发展主要呈现以下特点：

　　1. The growth rate of the import and export of trade in services hit a record high in eight years. In December, import and export still maintained a relatively high growth rate. The annual export of services was 1765.8 billion yuan, with an increase of 14.6% year on year, which was the highest growth rate of export since 2011; the import was 3474.4 billion yuan, up 10%. In December, China’s total import and export of services was 501.08 billion yuan, up 12.7%, among which the export was 187.03 billion yuan, up 15.8%, and the import was 314.05 billion yuan, up 10.9%.

　　一是服务出口增速创八年来新高，12月当月进出口仍保持较高增长速度。全年服务出口17658亿元，同比增长14.6%，是2011年以来的出口最高增速；进口34744亿元，增长10%。12月当月，我国服务进出口总额5010.8亿元，增长12.7%，其中出口1870.3亿元，增长15.8%，进口3140.5亿元，增长10.9%。

　　2. The growth of service import and export was higher than that of the world’s major economies. According to the statistics of the WTO, China’s growth of service import and export in the first ten months of 2018 was 11.3, 6.7, 7.5 and 8.8 percentage points higher than those of the US, Germany, the UK and France respectively in terms of the US dollar (other countries have not released their year-round statistics yet). Based on this, it’s calculated that the scale of China’s service import and export in 2018 will rank second worldwide for five consecutive years.

　　二是服务进出口增速高于世界主要经济体，规模继续保持世界第二位。世界贸易组织数据显示，以美元计，2018年前10个月我国服务进出口增速分别比美国、德国、英国和法国高出11.3、6.7、7.5和8.8个百分点（其他国家尚未发布全年数据）。据此测算，我国全年服务进出口规模将连续5年保持世界第二位。

　　3. The structure of trade in services was continuously optimized. Positive progress was made in the high-quality development of service trade. The import and export of the knowledge-intensive services reached 1695.21 billion yuan, up 20.7%, 9.2 percentage points higher than the overall growth, taking up 32.4% of the total, 2.5 percentage points higher than that of last year. The import and export of the three traditional services such as tourism, transportation and construction reached 3322.46 billion yuan, up 7.8%, accounting for 63.4% of the total, decreasing by 2.2 percentage points than that of last year.

　　三是服务贸易结构持续优化，服务贸易高质量发展取得积极进展。知识密集型服务进出口16952.1亿元，增长20.7%，高于整体增速9.2个百分点，占进出口总额的比重达32.4%，比去年提升2.5个百分点；旅行、运输和建筑等三大传统服务进出口33224.6亿元，增长7.8%，占进出口总额的比重为63.4%，比去年下降2.2个百分点。

　　4. The import of intellectual property rights increased significantly, and the demand for high-end productive services and export competitiveness grew at the same time. The import of intellectual property rights was 235.52 billion yuan, up 22%; the export was 36.8 billion yuan, up 14.4%. The export of technical services was 115.35 billion yuan, up 14.4%, and the import was 83.92 billion yuan, up 7.9%. It shows that China's demand for high-end productive services is still strong, and the competitiveness of high-end productive services export is also increasing.

　　四是知识产权使用费进口增幅较大，高端生产性服务需求和出口竞争力同步增长。知识产权使用费进口2355.2亿元，增长22%；出口368亿元，增长14.4%。技术服务出口1153.5亿元，增长14.4%，进口839.2亿元，增长7.9%。表明我国对高端生产性服务需求仍然旺盛，同时高端生产性服务出口竞争力也在提升。

　　5. The areas of service trade were relatively concentrated, and the scale of import and export in the eastern region continued to expand. The service import and export of 11 provinces and cities along the eastern coast reached 4503.76 billion yuan, accounting for 86.6% of the national amount. Among these, the import and export of services in Shanghai, Beijing and Guangdong were over one trillion yuan, ranking as the top three nationwide. The import and export of services in central and western regions reached 695.24 billion yuan, up 4.8%, taking up 13.4% of the national amount.

　　五是服务贸易区域发展相对集中，东部地区进出口规模持续扩大。东部沿海11个省市服务进出口合计45037.6亿元，占全国比重为86.6%。其中上海、北京和广东服务进出口额均过万亿元，居全国前三位。中西部地区服务进出口合计6952.4亿元，增长4.8%，占全国比重13.4%。

　　6. The proportion of the pilot zones on innovation in trade in services increased and the guiding role of the pilot zones was gradually strengthened. The import and export of trade in services in 17 pilot zones of innovation and development was 3987.01 billion yuan, accounting for 76.7% of the national amount, 5.1 percentage points higher than the national growth rate. Among these, the import and export of trade in services in pilot zones reached 1374.99 billion yuan and 2612.02 billion yuan respectively, up 18.1% and 15.8% respectively, both higher than the national level. It shows that the effect of China’s policy to support the innovative development of service trade is coming out, which has played an important role in stabilizing expectations and promoting growth.

　　六是服务贸易创新试点地区占比提升，引领示范作用不断增强。17个服务贸易创新发展试点地区服务进出口合计39870.1亿元，占全国的比重为76.7%，高于全国增速5.1个百分点。其中，服务出口和进口额分别为13749.9亿元和26120.2亿元，增速分别为18.1%和15.8%，均高于全国增速。表明国家出台的支持服务贸易创新发展的政策效果正在显现，对于稳预期、促增长发挥了重要作用。