The added value of the service industry accounted for over 60% of GDP in the first quarter - the quality and efficiency of service industry development continue to improve (Ruicai)
According to data recently released by the National Bureau of Statistics, the added value of China's service industry increased by 5.2% year-on-year in the first quarter of this year, accounting for 61.7% of the gross domestic product (GDP); The contribution rate to economic growth reached 63.2%, driving GDP growth by 3.2 percentage points. Peng Yongtao, Director of the Service Industry Survey Center of the National Bureau of Statistics, stated that the service industry economy had a good start in the first quarter, with continuous improvement in development quality and efficiency, accelerated growth of new driving forces, release of service consumption potential, and overall stable market expectations.
The performance of modern service industry is impressive
Peng Yongtao introduced that in the first quarter, various regions and departments strengthened the implementation of policies to expand and improve the quality of the service industry, accelerated the construction of a new system of high-quality and efficient service industry, and achieved rapid growth in the service industry economy.
From a segmented perspective, the performance of the modern service industry is particularly impressive. In the first quarter, the added value of information transmission, software and information technology services, leasing and business services increased by 10.6% and 12.2% respectively year-on-year, driving the added value of the service industry to grow by 1.9 percentage points, an increase of 0.2 percentage points from the same period last year.
In March, the production index of information transmission, software and information technology services, leasing and business services increased by 11.8% and 10.1% respectively compared to the same period last year, accelerating by 1.7 and 1.9 percentage points respectively from January to February; In January and February, the total volume of telecommunications services increased by 8.4% year-on-year.
The quality and efficiency of financial services to the real economy continue to improve, with the added value of the financial industry increasing by 6.5% year-on-year in the first quarter. The securities market remains active, with a year-on-year increase of 26.9% in trading volume and 67.9% in stock turnover in the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets in the first quarter.
The production and operation of enterprises are also showing a good trend. "Since this year, the operating revenue of major industries in the service industry has generally grown rapidly, especially the production and operation of service enterprises have shown a trend of accelerated development of digital technology empowerment and life service consumption." Peng Yongtao introduced that from January to February, the operating revenue of software and information technology service industry above designated size, Internet and related service enterprises increased by 14.4% and 12.1% respectively year on year, and the operating revenue of culture and art industry above designated size and resident service enterprises increased by 16.1% and 10.0% respectively.
Accelerate the pace of transformation and upgrading
While maintaining rapid growth, new driving forces in the service industry continue to grow and expand, and the pace of transformation and upgrading has significantly accelerated.
Looking at technological innovation, with the deep integration of "artificial intelligence+" in multiple fields, the transformation of scientific and technological achievements continues to advance, and emerging service industries are flourishing. In January and February, the operating income of strategic emerging service industry and high-tech service industry enterprises above designated size increased by 8.0% and 6.7% respectively year-on-year, with inspection and testing services and research and development and design services increasing by 10.5% and 10.1% respectively.
Peng Yongtao stated that the deep integration of digital technology and the real economy empowers industrial upgrading. In the first quarter, the transaction volume of software information service platforms increased by 11.7% year-on-year; In January and February, the operating income of digital technology application enterprises above designated size increased by 10.8% year-on-year. The supply of investment promotion services in high-tech service industry has been continuously optimized. In the first quarter, fixed assets investment in high-tech service industry increased by 12.3% year on year, including 29.5%, 20.9% and 15.8% respectively in professional technology service industry, information service industry and R&D and design service industry.
Looking at service consumption, new formats, models, and scenarios are emerging, meeting the demands for quality, diversity, and convenience, and effectively driving the growth of service consumption. In the first quarter, the service retail sales increased by 5.5% year-on-year, which was 3.3 percentage points higher than the commodity retail sales. The supply of high-quality cultural and tourism products is abundant, and tourism and performing arts are deeply integrated. In the first quarter, the transaction volume of tourism, entertainment and services, and cultural service platforms increased by 12.8% and 8.2% respectively year-on-year; In January and February, the operating income of travel agencies and related service enterprises above designated size increased by 14.8% year-on-year.
Li Jun, Director of the Institute of International Trade in Services at the Research Institute of the Ministry of Commerce, believes that improving the quality and upgrading of service consumption still needs to focus on the supply side. Improving the quality and quality of supply is particularly important for the branding and standardized development of the lifestyle service industry. The qualification recognition, standard construction, and integrity system construction of related enterprises and services need to be correspondingly improved and perfected, "said Li Jun.
The prosperity index rises to the expansion range
The stable and positive development of the service industry cannot be achieved without strong support from the policy level.
This year's Government Work Report listed "expanding capacity and improving quality of service industry" as one of the key work priorities for the whole year, and for the first time proposed "cultivating the 'China Service' brand"; The General Office of the State Council has issued the "Work Plan for Accelerating the Cultivation of New Growth Points in Service Consumption", focusing on key and potential areas such as home economics, travel, performances, and sports events to introduce specific measures; The Ministry of Commerce and 9 other departments have issued the "2026 Work Plan for the Action of Improving Service Consumption Quality and Benefiting the People", proposing to create a batch of new consumption scenarios with wide driving force and high display.
A series of opening-up measures are also being synchronously promoted to help stabilize and optimize service trade. Peng Yongtao introduced that from January to February, China's service trade exports reached 442.49 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.7%; The proportion of knowledge intensive service imports and exports to the total service imports and exports was 42.5%, an increase of 0.3 percentage points from the same period last year. The visa free transit policy has driven the continuous growth of inbound tourism, with a year-on-year increase of 22.3% in the number of inbound and outbound foreign visitors in the first quarter. The export of travel services in January and February was 60.96 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 22.5%. The opening up of the service industry has increased, and the actual use of foreign investment in the service industry in January and February was 111.22 billion yuan, accounting for 68.9% of the actual use of foreign investment in the country.
Looking ahead, the service industry is expected to have a positive outlook and strong momentum for high-quality development.
In March, the business activity index of the service industry was 50.2%, an increase of 0.5 percentage points from the previous month, and the market activity of the service industry continued to improve. Among them, the business activity indices of industries such as railway transportation, telecommunications, broadcasting and television, satellite transmission services, monetary and financial services, and insurance are all in the high prosperity range above 55.0%, and the total business volume is growing rapidly. From the perspective of market expectations, the expected index of service industry business activities is 54.8%, continuing to be at a relatively high operating level, "said Peng Yongtao.
Peng Yongtao stated that in the future, we will deepen the implementation of the service industry capacity expansion and quality improvement action, continuously expand effective supply, fully stimulate the vitality of business entities, continuously cultivate new growth points in the service industry, promote the smooth connection of various links in the economic cycle, better meet the personalized, diversified, and high-quality needs of the market and residents, and strive to create a new situation of high-quality development in the service industry.