China to introduce negative list for cross-border service trade

China will introduce a negative list for cross-border service trade this year as part of its efforts to promote opening up and facilitate transparent trade in services, an official said during a press briefing held by the State Council Information Office on Friday.

The value-added of the service sector in China accounted for over half of the GDP, and contributed to about 60% of the country's economic growth, according to Sun Guojun, a member of the Leading Party Members' Group of State Council Research Office. Sun said that the share of China's service trade in the whole service sector is relatively lower than the global average, which means that there is still vast potential for growth.

Due to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 outbreak, China's service trade has scaled down. According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, China's total trade in services reached 1.15 trillion yuan (US$160.8 billion) in the first quarter of this year, down by 10.8% from the previous year. However, the trade deficit continued to shrink – it fell 27.7% year on year to 263.74 billion yuan.

In addition to the negative list for cross-border service trade, China is also planning to shorten its negative list for foreign investment this year, in order to further promote opening up, Sun said. 

In 2017, China put forward a negative list for foreign investment for the first time. Last year, the number of sectors subjected to foreign investment restrictions was cut to 40. The country also widened access to new energy vehicles, financial sectors, and other major areas of its market, Sun said.