China's service outsourcing industry posted a steady expansion during the January-March period, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed.
Chinese firms inked service outsourcing contracts worth about 488.1 billion yuan (about 75 billion U.S. dollars) in the first three months, up 10.3 percent year on year.
The executed contract value came in at 318.5 billion yuan during the period, with a year-on-year increase of 17.2 percent.
Outsourcing refers to hiring an outside party to perform services or make goods typically undertaken by in-house employees.
Of the total, offshore service outsourcing contract value rose 4.6 percent from a year ago to 264.8 billion yuan.
Service outsourcing with members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership saw quicker growth, with the executed contract value rising 3.2 percent from a year earlier to 38.2 billion yuan in the January-March period.
