Service trade has become a new driving force for global trade and economic growth and China's opening-up shifts from trade in goods to service trade has become a basic trend resulting from the new changes in service trade brought about by the digital technological innovation, according to the Report on the Development of China's Service Trade Industry 2020 issued at the 4th "Belt and Road" Service Trade Cooperation Forum on Saturday.
The report shows that during the "13th Five-Year Plan" period, China has achieved remarkable results in the service industry and trade in services, with a continuous increase in the total volume and continuous optimization of the structure. In particular, the proportion of knowledge-intensive service trade in 2019 and 2020 reached 34.7% and 44.5%, becoming the leading driving force for the growth of service trade.
Vigorous development is being made in the new business formats and new models of service trade. Digital service exports account for more than 50% of the total. Exports of digital products and service are expanding rapidly, making China the second largest recipient of global service outsourcing.
The report predicts that by 2025, the added value of China's service industry will account for 60% of GDP, indicating great potential for development.
The 4th "Belt and Road" Service Trade Cooperation Forum witnessed three signing events.
The China Association for Trade in Services and the Russia-China New Silk Road Cultural Development Foundation signed a strategic cooperation agreement. The two parties will jointly promote the "Eurasian Transport and Logistics Center" through the platform of the "Service Trade Cooperation Forum and the 2nd World Cross-border E-commerce Conference" Projects in a bid to actively explore more cooperation opportunities in cultural exchanges, tourism, investment promotion, technological innovation and incubation services.
The China International Fair for Trade in Services, which aims to promote deeper cooperation and wider opening-up in services trade and beyond, opened in Beijing on Thursday.
Themed "Towards Digital Future and Service Driven Development," the fair, held both online and offline, taps into the potential of cutting-edge digital technologies and functions as a platform for promoting world economic recovery and growth. Enterprises from home and abroad have flocked to the fair, hoping to seize opportunities in the world's second-largest economy.
