Beijing, China – September 15, 2025 – Despite global trade headwinds, China is signaling a stronger commitment to advancing trade in services, generating fresh momentum for its own economic growth while opening up new opportunities for international collaboration.

This message has been at the forefront of the 2025 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), currently taking place in Beijing. The event has attracted exhibitors from over 80 countries, regions, and international organizations, reaffirming China’s role as a global hub for services trade.

Surging Demand for Services

Now in its 12th edition, CIFTIS has become a central platform for showcasing the rapid growth of China’s services sector. The core exhibition space alone covers more than 100,000 square meters which is about 14 standard football fields, spanning industries such as culture and tourism, education, transportation, health, finance, environmental services, sports, and information technology.

This year, visitors are treated to a unique cultural highlight: the culture and tourism services hall offers a “one-stop tour” of Beijing’s most iconic heritage sites. Exhibitors such as the Summer Palace and the Temple of Heaven have created collective booths, displaying cultural and creative products that allow international guests to experience the city’s cultural essence in one place.

“The fair offers a key platform for us to communicate and collaborate with potential partners across various industries,” said Wang Fang at the Beijing Zoo booth. She had just discussed possible cooperation on eco-friendly souvenirs with an international company. “Our goal is to provide both domestic and international tourists with higher-quality services and added value.”

As China enters a stage where the service sector takes up more than half of the economy, the demand for high-quality services is on the rise, creating space for domestic industries to lift standards and for international companies to tap into this opportunity. From January to July this year, retail sales of services rose by 5.2 percent year on year, according to Vice Commerce Minister Sheng Qiuping. Yet, Sheng also noted the challenge of insufficient supply to meet rising demand, underlining the importance of CIFTIS in expanding imports of quality services.

Nearly 2,000 exhibitors are participating this year, including close to 500 Fortune Global 500 companies and industry leaders such as Walmart, AstraZeneca, and KPMG. Among the standout attractions, Chinese-made humanoid robots have captured attention by serving food, making coffee, playing football, and even boxing.

Honson To, chairman of KPMG China and Asia Pacific, highlighted the role of new technologies. “China’s development of new quality productive forces, including cloud computing, big data, and artificial intelligence, will drive progress in knowledge-intensive services trade,” he said.

Deepening Opening-Up

For long-time observers of the Chinese market, the momentum is clear. Paul Bateman, chairman of J.P. Morgan Asset Management, has visited China more than 150 times in the past 30 years. “With each visit, I’m more impressed by the vitality and growth of China’s market,” he remarked during the Global Trade in Services Summit at CIFTIS.

Bateman noted that J.P. Morgan’s expansion in China has benefited from recent policy changes, such as the removal of foreign equity caps in financial services. These reforms have been part of China’s broader efforts to open its service sector, which last year included the rollout of a nationwide negative list management system for cross-border trade in services. In select pilot free trade zones, foreign residents can now open securities or futures accounts to engage in investment advisory services.

Such policies have fueled growth. In the first half of 2025, China’s total services trade reached a record 3.9 trillion yuan (approximately 549 billion U.S. dollars), marking an 8 percent increase year on year.

Officials have pledged further reforms, including pilot opening-up programs in telecommunications and medicine, as well as gradual liberalization in education and culture. “China is willing to work with all countries and parties to strengthen opening up and cooperation in services trade and promote growth in global trade and the world economy,” said Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang during the fair.

Shared Global Opportunities

For international participant at CIFTIS like Australian vocational education provider Chisholm Institute of TAFE, China’s growing demand for high-quality services represents a tangible opportunity.

Norway’s national pavilion, featuring nine companies in sectors such as health, nutrition, and aquaculture, demonstrates how shifting Chinese consumer habits are aligning with foreign expertise. “The Chinese consumers are very health-conscious. And for the products that we have in Norway, this is great,” said Henning Kristoffersen, commercial counselor at the Norwegian Embassy in China.

Meanwhile, the Netherlands sees potential in sports-related services. Dutch ambassador Andre Haspels pointed to collaboration in swimming safety and cycling infrastructure, noting, “Sports, of course, is very important for health, mental and physical health.”

As Sheng emphasized, by integrating more deeply with global markets, expanding cooperation, and strengthening industrial collaboration, China aims to inject stronger momentum into worldwide economic prosperity.

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