China's services trade showed steady growth in the first seven months of 2025, with a significant rise in travel-related service trade, according to official data released on Friday. 

The country's services trade volume reached 4.58 trillion yuan (about $641.3 billion) during this period, an increase of 8.2 percent year over year, as reported by the Ministry of Commerce.

Services exports reached nearly 2 trillion yuan (about $280 billion), an increase of 15.3 percent from a year earlier. In comparison, services imports rose 3.3 percent to 2.58 trillion yuan (about $361.3 billion), resulting in a deficit of 581.56 billion yuan (about $81.4 billion).

Trade in travel-related services continued strong growth, rising 10.4 percent year over year to 1.26 trillion yuan (about $176.4 billion). Notably, exports increased 62.9 percent. 

Meanwhile, trade in knowledge-intensive services grew by 6.8 percent year over year to over 1.77 trillion yuan (about $247.8 billion).

(Cover: The CIFTIS billboard at Shougang Park in Beijing, China. /VCG)