SHENZHEN and eight other cities have been approved to carry out comprehensive pilot programs to accelerate the opening up of the service sector, the State Council has announced.

The pilot programs will cover key sectors such as finance and health care and include measures like improving social security services for foreign residents and promoting inter-hospital data sharing, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

This latest expansion marks the fourth time that the pilot programs have been extended to include more cities since they were first implemented in Beijing in 2015. In 2021 and 2023, the programs were further expanded to cover nine cities as well as Hainan Province.

The pilot programs in Beijing led to specific opening-up measures, including advancing reforms in technological services and innovation, boosting the development of the digital economy and trade, strengthening reform and innovation in financial services, and fostering greater global cooperation through internet services.

One of the main reasons that these programs are important is because they help attract foreign investment, which is at the heart of opening-up efforts, according to the Ministry of Commerce. For example, a spike in foreign investment has driven the optimization and upgrading of China’s industrial structure, which has helped the country’s ability to meet demand.

Huo Jianguo, vice chairman of the China Society for World Trade Organization Studies, said the opening up of the service sector is a key task for China to expand high-level opening up because openness in the sector, especially in digital trade, is widely considered as an important new growth point worldwide.

The service sector has emerged as a powerful growth driver for China’s economy, contributing 54.6% to its economic growth in 2024.

Official data show that China’s annual trade in services exceeded US$1 trillion for the first time last year, demonstrating significant potential for further growth. (Mu Zi)