China has deepened opening-up and cooperation in the service sector, fulfilling its responsibility in fostering the development of global service industries and trade in services.

Themed "Global Services, Shared Prosperity," the 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), being held in Beijing from September 9 to 13, has brought exhibitors from 90 countries and international organizations, with more than 1,800 companies exhibiting on-site. It is also hosting a series of forums and business matchmaking.

The CIFTIS is expected to create many investment opportunities across conferencing, exhibition, infrastructure and digital services, Zimbabwean Vice President Constantino Chiwenga said at the Global Trade in Services Summit at the fair.

The summit was co-hosted by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) with China's Ministry of Commerce and the Beijing municipal government.

WIPO Director General Daren Tang said in his video address that in the first half of this year, China's service trade volume reached 3.8 trillion RMB, up over eight percent year on year, with exports of knowledge-intensive services, including intellectual property (IP)-related services, seeing strong growth. This is supported by China's IP and innovation ecosystem, Tang said.

Highlighting innovation and trade in services, more than 100 new products and services are expected to make their debut at the fair in fields such as information and communications, fintech, and digital and intelligent healthcare.

This year's CIFTIS not only offers a platform for showcasing and trading quality services from around the world and facilitating access to the Chinese market, but has also debuted "Go Global Service" zones across multiple themed exhibitions to support Chinese companies expand overseas and promote more high-quality "China Services" on the global stage.

In the Exhibition of Culture & Tourism Services, Yiyuan Digital (Beijing) Technology Group showcased a device that uses AI image matching and automated controls to give cultural relics a globally unique digital ID each, enabling identity data to be shared across platforms. Also on display are flagship cases of China's "new trio" of cultural exports — micro-dramas, domestic animation and online games — paired with AI multilingual translation and inbound travel products.

For the first time, there is a "China Services Case Showcase" exhibition area, presenting over 140 innovation cases spanning all 12 categories of services trade. They include the BeiDou Space-Time Information Service Platform, ready for pilot operation in many countries, which is expected to advance their governance modernization and industrial digital transformation.

As global industrial chains undergo accelerated restructuring, digital-intelligent and green transition is picking up pace. China's service sector has consolidated its foundation, bringing more opportunities for the development of trade in services.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), China will continue to deepen international cooperation on trade in services. Utilizing multilateral, bilateral and regional economic and trade platforms, it will sign trade-in-services cooperation agreements with more countries, expand areas of cooperation and tap into cooperation potential.

More trade-in-services promotion platforms like CIFTIS will be established to help build international connection channels and support enterprises in participating in international competition and cooperation on a broader scale.