BEIJING -- China's services trade expanded 8.3 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2026, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday.

The total value of service imports and exports reached nearly 3.78 trillion yuan (about $556.56 billion) from January to June this year, according to the data.

Throughout the period, travel service exports grew at the fastest rate among the top five service export categories, rising 31.1 percent to 229.2 billion yuan.

Knowledge-intensive services trade rose 6.7 percent year-on-year to 1.66 trillion yuan during the same period, accounting for 44 percent of all service trade. Notably, exports of personal cultural and entertainment services and the charges for the use of intellectual property surged 57.2 percent and 44.3 percent respectively.

Tuesday's data also showed that imports of transport services totaled 498.1 billion yuan during the period, up 30.4 percent, the fastest growth rate among the top five service import categories.