July sees acceleration in recovery in China’s services sector

(MENAFN) China’s services sector saw a significant acceleration in its recovery in July, driven by a surge in domestic demand that boosted a wide range of industries from transportation to culture and sports. The services output index rose 4.8 percent year-on-year last month, up 0.1 percentage points from the growth rate in June, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Thursday.

The data revealed that the information transmission, software and IT services sector led the pack with a solid 12.6 percent growth, reflecting strong demand for digital and technology solutions. Leasing and business services grew by 9 percent, while transportation, storage and postal services grew by 5.3 percent. The financial sector also showed a solid performance, with its index rising by 5.1 percent.

Further analysis showed that several industries prospered, including rail and air transportation, postal services, telecommunications, broadcasting, satellite transmission, and the culture, sports and entertainment sectors. This broad-based prosperity underscores the strength of China’s service sector recovery, driven by a booming holiday travel season and an increase in consumer spending.

The recovery of the service sector has been further supported by a series of policy measures aimed at stimulating the consumption of services. The latest guidelines from the State Council aim to further develop consumer services and meet the diverse needs of the population. The guidelines include initiatives to improve home services, care for the elderly and education, as well as to promote new types of consumption such as digital, ecological and health services. Remarkably, as of early August, the number of rail passenger trips has already exceeded 600 million, underlining the significant rebound in the travel and related sectors.

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