How digital, green and global collaboration is reshaping service trade

Editor's note: Belunn Se, a special commentator on current affairs for CGTN, is a senior industry observer based in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, in China. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

As autumn settles over Beijing, the 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) opens from September 9 to 13, spotlighting artificial intelligence (AI), digital services, green transition, health technology and the global expansion of "Chinese services" – a picture of an industry moving toward technology-driven, low-carbon and high-quality growth.

The numbers tell the story. In 2025, China's services sector generated value-added output of 80.9 trillion yuan ($12.05 trillion) and employed roughly 360 million people, nearly half the national workforce. Trade in services crossed a historic threshold, reaching 8.08 trillion yuan, up 7.4% year on year, with exports surging 14.2%, far outpacing imports.

The message is clear: The "world's factory" is climbing the value chain upstream to become a provider of high-end services. From "Made in China" to "Services from China", the country is embracing a more open stance toward the next wave of global trade in services taking technologies, standards, expertise and integrated solutions to global markets.

Digital intelligence revamping services

The new round of technological and industrial transformation is the central force behind this shift. Breakthroughs in AI, big data and cloud computing are dissolving the constraints of time and place, letting research and development (R&D), software services, data processing and remote operations flow across borders faster than ever, which turns digital services into a new growth pole for global trade.

Drawing on abundant wind and solar power in its western regions, China is converting clean electricity into computing power through intelligent computing clusters. The idea of "power used locally, service delivered globally" is turning token exports into a potential successor to manufacturing exports. Digital cultural products such as games, micro-dramas and online literature have likewise emerged as a "new trio" of cultural exports. Digital technologies are enabling China to export not only products and platforms, but also creativity, storytelling and cultural experiences.

Yet technological progress alone does not guarantee shared prosperity. If new-technology dividends accrue only to a handful of countries, industries or firms, the result could be deeper "K-shaped" divergence dilemma. The real solution is to promote the broader diffusion and application of AI and other frontier technologies to diffuse more broadly across traditional industries, employment and livelihoods, moving from structural divergence toward inclusive convergence.

Green transition: Environmental services ease climate challenges

Climate change is the quintessential global challenge, while green technology and environmental services have become indispensable arenas for international cooperation. Amid more frequent extreme weather and rising greenhouse gas concentrations, renewable energy, low-carbon manufacturing, carbon management and ecological restoration are turning global climate targets into concrete action.

China’s new-energy industries are a case in point. Electric vehicles, batteries and photovoltaic products have become major drivers of global trade. The country supplies over 70% of the world's solar modules and 60% of its wind power equipment; wind and solar exports during 2021-2025 alone helped other nations avoid roughly 4.1 billion tonnes of carbon emissions. Through South-South cooperation, China has signed 54 climate agreements with 42 developing countries, helping developing economies close energy gaps and lowers the cost of the global low-carbon transition.

Green cooperation is evolving from standalone projects toward coordinated industrial chains and mutually recognized standards, opening a path to shared benefit in sustainable development.

Bridging the health care divide: AI's borderless reach

AI is dismantling the geographic barriers that have long confined quality healthcare to major cities. AI-powered diagnostics, telemedicine and smart monitoring now bring specialist-level care to underserved regions.

In China, AI-assisted medical imaging, disease screening, health management and drug discovery are improving efficiency, while 5G, cloud computing, wearable devices and medical robotics are bringing healthcare services closer to homes and rural communities.

This model is scaling globally. Cross-border telehealth links now connect patients across Africa and Southeast Asia with Chinese medical experts in real time. Such innovations mark a fundamental shift from healthcare defined by proximity to privilege toward a system where technological capability, not geography, determines the quality of care available to every patient.

Technology, always in service of people

Algorithms can boost efficiency, and technology can transform industries. But as more innovation shifts from the breakthroughs of the few to the shared gains of the many, and as digitalization, greening and health technology increasingly converge, trade in services will be more than a component of economic growth. It stands to become a vital link ushering technological progress, industrial upgrading and better livelihoods.

Technology, ultimately, is always in service of people. China is revving up its shift from exporting products and capacity alone toward a systematic model of going global – one powered by AI, guided by standards and grounded in service. Chinese enterprises will keep building on their strengths in innovation and industrial application, deepening their presence in AI, green services and health technology.

With CIFTIS 2026 as a platform, China stands ready to work with the world to drive quality growth through innovation, deepen sustainability through green transition and share the historic opportunities of digital and green transformation.

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