Rapid growth of service trade highlights China's economic resilience, says expert

Visitors try the self-service shopping with an autonomous vending vehicle displayed at the 2022 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 1, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhang Chenlin)

BANGKOK, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- China's booming service trade has spotlighted the resilience of its economy amid the global economic downturn and recurrent COVID-19 outbreaks, an expert has said.

The steady growth of knowledge-intensive services trade is "encouraging," indicating a higher quality and added value of China's exports, Wichai Kinchong Choi, senior vice president of Thai bank Kasikornbank, told Xinhua in a recent written interview.

In the first half of the year, China's service trade value totaled 2.89 trillion yuan (about 426 billion U.S. dollars), up 21.6 percent year on year, while the trade volume of knowledge-intensive services grew by 9.8 percent, with robust growth in telecommunication and information service sectors, data from China's Ministry of Commerce showed.

As the global economic recovery faces multiple challenges, the 2022 China International Fair for Trade in Services, which runs through Sept. 5, provides a platform for trade in global services and "is expected to drive growth further and connect the domestic and international markets," Choi said.

Noting China has hosted a series of trade fairs since late 2021, such as the China International Import Expo, China Import and Export Fair and China International Consumer Products Expo, he said this year's service trade fair "once again demonstrates China's commitment to promoting a higher level of openness and its firm support for the multilateral trading system."

Choi pointed out that China, as the world's second-largest economy, has actively promoted international trade and further opened its market, sharing the dividends of its development with countries around the world, especially developing countries, and contributing significantly to a global post-pandemic recovery.

He noted that the trade fair focuses on a wide range of industries closely related to people's livelihoods.

Regarding Thailand, Choi said the service industry is a crucial part of the Thai economy, and "the trade fair will help Thai enterprises access better market information and new business opportunities."