In the first half of the year, service exports increased by 17.6% year-on-year - "Chinese services" are accelerating their overseas expansion (economic focus)

According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, the total import and export volume of services in China in the first half of the year was 3779.75 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.3%. Among them, service exports amounted to 1504.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 17.6%; The trade deficit in services was 7703.5 billion yuan, a decrease of 161.42 billion yuan compared to the same period last year.
Behind a series of numbers is a profound adjustment in the global trade pattern - the deepening development of service trade and service industry cooperation has become a new growth point in world trade; It is also an improvement in the quality and efficiency of China's service industry development - in the first half of the year, the added value of China's service industry increased by 5.2% year-on-year, accounting for 59.5% of the gross domestic product, and is the largest industry in the national economy.
What are the new trends and highlights in China's service exports at present? The reporter conducted an interview.
The export growth rate of travel services is relatively fast
In the first half of the year, China's travel service exports reached 229.2 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 31.1%, with the fastest growth rate among the top five service export sectors.
Travel services include tourism, study abroad, medical treatment, etc. Various types of consumption such as "food, accommodation, transportation, travel, shopping, and entertainment" by inbound tourists in China are included in China's travel service exports. In recent years, with the continuous optimization of policies such as visa free travel and exit tax refunds, "China Tour" and "China Shopping" have continued to be active.
Starting from July 1st this year, the national "small-scale inspection system" for departure tax refunds has been officially implemented. Tax refund application forms with a sales volume of less than 10000 yuan will be randomly inspected, and physical verification will no longer be conducted on a per order basis. The departure tax refund self-service machines have been put into use at Shenzhen Luohu Port and Shenzhen Airport, supporting 13 languages and completing tax refund processing in as fast as two to three minutes.
In the first month of the implementation of the new policy, Shenzhen Customs has processed a total of 13000 exit tax refund verification transactions and verification application forms worth 170 million yuan, an increase of 2.2 times and 94.1% year-on-year, respectively. According to the relevant person in charge of Shenzhen Customs, overseas travelers have more diverse consumption choices. In addition to traditional souvenirs such as tea and silk, domestic digital products, clothing and cultural creativity have become popular choices.
As "China tourism" continues to deepen, the travel trajectory of foreign tourists has expanded from first tier cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen to niche destinations. According to data from Qunar Travel, in the first half of the year, the destination of inbound flights purchased by foreign tourists on the platform has covered 160 cities in China - from Heihe near the China Russia border in the north, to Sanya on the tropical coast in the south, to Jiamusi, the "eastern pole of China" in the east, and Kashgar under the Kunlun Mountains in the west, an increase of 20 cities compared to the same period last year.
In addition, the duration of stay for inbound tourists has increased. According to data from Tujia Homestay, in the first half of the year, foreign tourists stayed in homestays in 330 cities in China, with an average stay of 2.8 days, a year-on-year increase of about 10%. This summer, the average length of stay for foreign tourists reached 4.7 days.
Nowadays, many foreign tourists are willing to enter small towns, communities, and villages in China, meet landlords and learn about local life in homestays, and spend more time to see a more authentic and rich China, "said Hu Yang, Senior Vice President of Tujia Homestay.
China is amazing. I strongly recommend everyone to take a look, "Elon Musk, an American entrepreneur and CEO of electric car manufacturer Tesla, wrote on social media recently. Subsequently, Musk's mother Mayer continued to "like" this post, stating that "every city in China has its unique charm".
Coming to China, experiencing China, and falling in love with China, inbound tourism is integrating with more scenarios such as consumption and culture, becoming a new support for the growth of service trade.
More than half of knowledge intensive service exports
Another highlight of the growth in service trade is the export of knowledge intensive services. In the first half of the year, China's knowledge intensive service exports amounted to 805.67 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.8%, accounting for 53.5% of the total service exports.
In the first half of the year, Jingtai Technology accelerated its global business layout by delivering intelligent and automated drug discovery and process optimization robot laboratories to South Korean leading pharmaceutical company JW Pharmaceuticals, making key progress in strategic cooperation with American innovative biopharmaceutical companies, and reaching over $400 million in AI (artificial intelligence) drug discovery cooperation with internationally renowned pharmaceutical companies.
We will transform our independently developed AI algorithms, tools, processes, and automated experimental capabilities into standardized and deliverable pharmaceutical and material research and development solutions. In the process of serving global customers, we will accumulate scarce high-quality data and industrialization experience in the industry, forming a virtuous cycle of 'technology output, global verification, and capability iteration'. ”Zhang Peiyu, Chief Scientific Officer of Jingtai Technology, introduced that Jingtai has a globally leading "AI+chemical robot" cluster, which has served multiple top 20 international pharmaceutical companies. The efficiency of collecting high-quality data is 50 times that of traditional laboratories, promoting the rapid clinical translation of more high-quality innovative drug projects.
With the development of new technologies such as AI, Chinese enterprises are shifting from exporting technology products to exporting technology service capabilities.
Among them, the export of lexical elements has emerged as a new track in recent years. Lexicon is the basic unit for AI processing and generating information, which can be regarded as a digital output formed by the conversion of electricity and computing power, and is an important basic resource in the AI era. Chinese companies package domestically produced mature large model computing power into standardized interfaces, which can be accessed and used by overseas customers without the need to build their own computing infrastructure. This lightweight and efficient approach to exporting keywords is increasingly favored by overseas companies.
In the fields of programming, image creation, interactive entertainment, AI native games, and more, many overseas entrepreneurial teams have begun to use the Chinese big model Alibaba Qianwen as the technical foundation. Its model capabilities, cost advantages, and mature cloud service system have established brand trust in the global developer community.
Cultivate more 'China Service' brands
The growth of service exports reflects the increasing recognition of the "China Service" brand.
In recent years, Chinese service brands have accelerated their expansion into overseas markets, and the consumer philosophy and cultural elements behind the brands have also been recognized and loved by more people.
The journey of a cup of tea to the world is also a microcosm of the international development of Chinese brands. Launching Brazilian berry ice cream in Brazil, offering multiple sugar options in the United States, and developing local tropical flavor products in Southeast Asia... Meixue Ice City has implemented a "global standard+regional customization" operation model, respecting and integrating local culture, and bringing Chinese tea into the lives of local people. Currently, it has opened more than 4000 stores in Southeast Asian countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand.
Bawang Tea Lady places greater emphasis on spatial creation and scene expansion. For example, opening pet friendly stores in areas of the Philippines known for their pet friendly facilities and venues; The flagship store in Gangnam gu, Seoul, South Korea uses softer fabrics and green plants to create a "peaceful and relaxing oasis" for busy urban customers.
From product innovation to scenario extension, the way Chinese brands go global is undergoing changes. Enterprises not only focus on market coverage, but also pay more attention to establishing emotional connections with local consumers.
More traditional services are also accelerating the improvement of quality and efficiency. In April this year, the pilot project for the integrated development of traditional Chinese medicine service consumption and service trade was launched, and 18 regions including Beijing, Tianjin, and Hulunbuir City in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region were included in the pilot scope. In the next three years, the pilot areas will explore and innovate in Chinese medicine cultural exchange, Chinese medicine tourism route promotion, Chinese medicine health care services, food and Tonic Diet services and other aspects, meet the multi-level needs of the international health care market, create new scenes and new formats of Chinese medicine service consumption, and form a number of well-known international brands of Chinese medicine services.
From the growth of travel services, to the improvement of knowledge intensive services, and to the acceleration of Chinese brands' overseas expansion, sets of data outline the growth trajectory of China's service trade transformation and upgrading. As the service industry continues to open up to the outside world, Chinese services will participate in global division of labor in a more diverse and enriched form, constantly activating new development drivers.