Politburo Prioritizes Service Trade Expansion; Jan-May 2026 Trade Up 6% to 3.1 Trillion Yuan

The Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee convened a meeting on July 30 to analyze and study the current economic situation and deploy economic work for the second half of the year. The meeting noted that the space for mutually beneficial international trade and economic cooperation should be expanded, service trade should be vigorously developed, and balanced trade development should be promoted.

Data released by the Ministry of Commerce show that from January to May 2026, China's total service trade imports and exports amounted to 3.09948 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6%. Among them, exports reached 1.23046 trillion yuan, up 15.9%; imports stood at 1.86902 trillion yuan, up 0.4%. The service trade deficit was 638.56 billion yuan, narrowing by 160.72 billion yuan compared with the same period in 2025.

For the full year of 2025, China's total service trade imports and exports reached 8.08231 trillion yuan, up 7.4% year-on-year. Exports were 3.62679 trillion yuan, up 14.2%; imports were 4.45551 trillion yuan, up 2.5%; and the service trade deficit was 828.72 billion yuan.

On the policy front, the Ministry of Commerce and the State Administration for Market Regulation previously issued the Action Plan for Service Trade Standardization (2026-2030), which makes specific arrangements for accelerating the construction of a service trade standardization work system, strengthening the supply of standards in key areas, and promoting the internationalization of service trade standards. Seven departments including the Ministry of Commerce jointly released a revised version of the Catalogue of Encouraged Import Services, adding two major categories—'Other Professional Services' and 'Medical and Health Services'—and optimizing and adjusting a number of service import items.

He Shaojun, head of the Department of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Commerce, introduced at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office on July 28 that more pragmatic measures will be taken to expand imports and share the opportunities of China's large market with countries around the world. Specific measures include: continuously expanding the influence of the 'Export China' brand, hosting a series of matchmaking events, and increasing import efforts through exhibition linkage, targeted procurement, and other methods; steadily increasing policy support, improving the convenience of import trade, and optimizing the composition of imported goods; and fully leveraging the role of various promotion platforms, continuing to host major exhibitions such as the China International Import Expo and the China International Consumer Products Expo, regularly holding the Quality Products Trade Fair of the CIIE, better utilizing the role of the National Import Trade Promotion and Innovation Demonstration Zones, and actively driving the import of global high-quality goods and services.