China's annual trade in service exceeded US$100 billion in 2003,
according to a latest government report.
China has become the world's ninth largest country in terms of
service trade. It was also the first time for the nation to be
ranked in top ten, according to the newly released report by the Ministry of Commerce.
Overseas service trade totaled US$102 billion last year. Its
service trade export in 2003 reached US$46.7 billion, up 18 percent
from the pervious year. The figure accounted for 2.7 percent of the
world's total and made the country the largest service trade
exporter in developing countries, the report said.
Service trade import in the same year reached US$55.3 billion,
up 19 percent from a year earlier. That figure accounted for 3.2
percent of the world's total service trade import and ranked the
country the largest importer of service trade among developing
countries.
China is now the ninth largest exporter and the eighth largest
importer of service trade in the world, according to the
report.
(Xinhua News Agency May 3, 2004)