China's service exports grew rapidly in the first eight months of this year, with travel, transport and knowledge-intensive services performing particularly well, according to data published by the Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday. 

China's total services trade reached 5.07 trillion yuan (about $757.60 billion) in the first eight months, up 7.9% year on year, data shows. Exports rose by 14.8% to 2 trillion yuan, while imports increased by 3.8% to 3.07 trillion yuan, and the services trade deficit narrowed by 145.12 billion yuan year on year. 

By sector, China's imports and exports of knowledge-intensive services reached 2.23 trillion yuan in the first eight months, up 6.6% year on year, accounting for 44% of the country's total services trade.

Knowledge-intensive services led the growth in service exports, contributing to 53.7% of the entire service exports growth. Among these services, personal, cultural and recreational services and financial services recorded the fastest growth, rising by 66% and 21.6%, respectively.

"Knowledge-intensive services have emerged as a new driver of export growth," said Li Jun, director of the International Service Trade Institute of the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce.

"The overseas expansion of digital content, including video games and micro-dramas, has fueled rapid growth in exports of personal, cultural and recreational services," Li added.