Beijing unveiled ambitious plans last week, spearheaded by the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), to accelerate market opening across services industries from telecommunications to financial services, in a bid to bolster growth and align with high-standard international trade rules.

As part of the broader Chinese retaliation against recent U.S. tariffs, the China Film Administration stated last week that it will limit movie imports from the United States.

China's Ministry of Commerce released its services trade data for January and February. Growth in travel and knowledge-based services drove overall expansion, with a narrowing trade deficit.

Yesterday, China and Kyrgyzstan officially kicked off the negotiations for a services trade and investment agreement.

China’s State Council recently released a set of guidelines to promote the development of services trade with special language emphasizing data flows.

Last week, during Chinese Premier Li Qiang's visit to Belarus, the two governments signed a number of deals on the BRI and trade, including one on services trade and investment.

Over the first two months of 2024, China's services trade grew 22.8%, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM), and its intellectual property (IP) exports grew over 80%.