Beijing looks to services trade for a growing economic role

Trade in services accounts for 80 percent of Beijing's GDP, and continues to hold huge potential for the city's economic growth, the autumn session of China International Fair for Trade in Services, held in Beijing, was told.

Nearly 100 business people, academics and others attended the meeting on Nov 28, and prospects for the global service trade was the focus of their discussions.

Services now generate more than half of China's GDP and employ more than a third of the country's workforce, said Janos Ferencz, trade policy analyst of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and these proportions are increasing rapidly.

"In China, services are becoming more important than ever," Ferencz said.

The World Trade Organization said in a recent report that trade in services has become the most dynamic part of the global trade, with recent annual growth of 5.4 percent, outpacing trade in goods from 2005 to 2017.

Trade in services will account for half of total world trade by 2040, the World Trade Report 2019 predicted.

The integration of China's services sector in the global economy is still only in its early phase, and the potential for significant growth is great, Ferencz said.

Policies that support an open, transparent and competitive services market will encourage service providers to take part in global value chains, he said.

Norman Sze, a member of the Deloitte Global Public Policy Committee, said at the meeting: "Accounting for only seven percent globally, the volume of services trade in China is small."

Sze called on China to refine service trade structure and focus more on capital- and knowledge-intensive services instead of depending on traditional industries such as tourism and transport.

The China International Fair for Trade in Services will promote the service trade in China, giving the country a greater role in the global system, he said.

Trade in services accounted for 80 percent of Beijing's GDP in 2017, totaling $368.5 billion, said Yvonne Zhou, managing director and partner of Boston Consulting Group.

That was far behind that of New York, where the services trade generated more than 91 percent of GDP, and London, where it generated 85 percent of GDP, she said. Beijing ought to attract more foreign talents with experience in the high-end service industry, she said.

More than 60 of the attendees were members of a think tank sponsored by the fair,   the CIFTIS Vision Committee. Guest speakers from international organizations such as the WTO, the OECD and the World Economic Forum aired their views at the meeting .

Beijing hosts the China International Fair for Trade in Services, China's first such national comprehensive fair, every year.

Next year's fair will be held from May 28 to June 1.