The Party Central Committee, with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, attaches great importance to the development of the service industry and has launched a series of reform measures to promote its growth and development. The service industry has gradually grown into the largest industry in the national economy, unleashing new momentum and unleashing new vitality, becoming an important force for China's stable economic growth.
Growing in scale, stabilizing half of the national economy
The Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays are approaching, and catering, accommodation, lantern shows, and cultural tourism research are in peak season; The aftermath of the Paris Olympics has not dissipated, and national sports consumption continues to rise... Currently, China is in a stage of rapid growth in service consumption.
General Secretary Xi Jinping, with a focus on the overall trend of economic development, has pointed out the direction for the development of the service industry, stating that "developing tourism and other service industries into regional pillar industries" and "service trade is an important component of international trade, and the service industry is an important field of international economic and trade cooperation".
The Party Central Committee and the State Council have formulated and introduced a series of policy measures to promote the service industry to enter a new stage of high-quality development. In 2023, the added value of the service industry will grow to 688238 billion yuan, with an average annual real growth rate of 6.9% from 2013 to 2023, which is 0.8 percentage points higher than the average annual growth rate of the gross domestic product (GDP) during the same period. During this period, the proportion of added value of the service industry to GDP has further increased, exceeding 50% for the first time in 2015 and reaching 54.6% in 2023, occupying half of the national economy for nine consecutive years.
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, our country has vigorously developed industry and agriculture, with the service industry in a supporting position; After the reform and opening up, the service industry underwent earth shaking changes and developed rapidly and comprehensively; Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, a large number of new industries, forms, and models of the service industry have emerged, entering a new stage of improving quality and efficiency... Since the founding of the People's Republic of China 75 years ago, the position and role of the service industry as the main engine of economic and social development have become more solid and stable.
28.4%, 45.0%, 49.9%, and 60.2% are the contribution rates of the service industry to the GDP in 1978, 2012, 2014, and 2023, respectively.
The continuously rising numbers highlight the increasing role of the service industry as a driving force for growth——
Before the reform and opening up, the contribution rate of China's service industry to economic growth was relatively low; After the reform and opening up, with the acceleration of industrialization and urbanization, the demand for the service industry in society has been increasing day by day, and the contribution rate of the service industry to economic growth has been continuously increasing. In recent years, the service industry has shown an accelerating upward trend in its contribution to GDP, becoming the main engine of economic and social development.
In recent years, with the rise of the service industry, new professions such as live streaming hosts, food delivery drivers, ride hailing drivers, and data analysts have become integrated into the daily lives of ordinary people.
The emerging new business models highlight the role of the service industry as the "main channel" for employment absorption——
Before the reform and opening up, agriculture and industry were the main sources of employment. At the end of 1978, the proportion of service industry employees in the national employment was only 12.2%; After the reform and opening up, the employment in the service industry exceeded that of the secondary industry in 1994 and the primary industry in 2011. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the service industry has become the main force in absorbing employment. From 2013 to 2023, the service industry has added 7.41 million new employees annually. By the end of 2023, the proportion of service industry employees in the national employment population was 48.1%.
Continuous optimization of structure plays a new chapter towards quality
E-commerce platforms and digital finance allow consumers to "buy globally" without leaving their homes, while shared transportation modes such as shared bicycles and cars make travel convenient and green... Nowadays, modern service industries such as e-commerce, financial technology, and sharing economy are flourishing, profoundly changing people's production and lifestyle, and reflecting the transformation of service industry structure optimization and upgrading, and continuous improvement in quality.
From an industry perspective, the proportion of traditional service industries has significantly decreased, while emerging service industries have steadily grown.
Looking back at the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1952, the added value of wholesale and retail industries, as well as the added value of transportation, warehousing, and postal services, accounted for over 50% of the total added value of the service industry. The development of the service industry was relatively concentrated, and by 2023, their respective proportions in the service industry had decreased to 17.9% and 8.4%.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the new development concept has deeply penetrated people's hearts, the innovation driven development strategy has been deeply implemented, and the emerging service industry has ushered in a golden period of development. From 2019 to 2023, the average annual growth rate of operating income for high-tech service industry, technology service industry, and strategic emerging industry enterprises above designated size will be 12.9%, 12.3%, and 12.0%, respectively.
From a regional perspective, the development of the service industry is more coordinated and the trend of coordinated development is becoming increasingly evident.
In 2023, the added value of the service industry in 4 out of 31 provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government) in China will account for over 60.0% of the regional GDP. Modern service industries in mega cities such as Beijing and Shanghai will gather in large numbers, with the added value of the service industry accounting for 84.8% and 75.2% of the regional GDP, respectively; There are 24 regions in China where the added value of the service industry accounts for between 45% and 60%, an increase of 14 regions compared to 2012.
From the perspective of openness, the service industry has become an important area for attracting foreign investment, and China's services are accelerating their global expansion.
Not long ago, China clearly launched a pilot project to expand opening up in the medical field, intending to allow the establishment of wholly foreign-owned hospitals in Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Nanjing, Suzhou, Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and the entire island of Hainan, which has attracted widespread attention from the outside world.
After China's accession to the World Trade Organization, restrictions on foreign investment access in 9 major sectors and over 100 sub sectors of the service industry, including banking, insurance, and transportation, have been gradually lifted; From 2001 to 2023, the total import and export volume of China's service trade increased from 78.4 billion US dollars to 933.1 billion US dollars, and its trade scale jumped from 12th place among the world's economies to the forefront of the world.
Enhancing innovation momentum and activating the "new engine" of economic growth
Joint efforts between family farmers and service industry enterprises to achieve effective integration between "small-scale production" and "large market"; The development of modern service industries such as finance and insurance has greatly reduced the financing costs of industrial enterprises; Industrial enterprises collaborate with retail and internet companies to accurately connect with market demand through big data resources
Nowadays, the service industry plays an increasingly important role in promoting industrial transformation and upgrading, and enhancing people's well-being through new generation information technologies such as big data, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things.
Since the new era, China has vigorously developed the productive service industry, and the supporting role of the service industry in the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry has been continuously strengthened. The integrated development of modern service industry and advanced manufacturing industry has shown initial results. In 2023, production service enterprises above designated size in China will achieve a revenue of 119 trillion yuan, with an average annual growth rate of 12.1% from 2020 to 2023.
At the same time, China has implemented the "Internet plus" initiative, promoted the deep integration of the Internet and manufacturing industry, and accelerated the transformation of new and old development drivers and production systems. By the end of 2023, the number of influential industrial Internet platforms in China will exceed 340, covering all industrial categories, and the scale of industrial Internet core industries will reach 1.35 trillion yuan.
The rapid development of core industries in the digital economy injects strong impetus into the development of new quality productivity. In 2023, the number of invention patent authorizations for the core industries of the digital economy reached 406000, accounting for 45% of the total number of invention patent authorizations in the same period, with an average annual growth rate of 21.0% in the past five years.
With the gradual acceleration of China's new urbanization construction, residents' income is steadily increasing, and people are gradually shifting from buying goods to buying experiences, material needs to spiritual pursuits, driving the accelerated development of life service industries such as tourism, culture, sports, health, elderly care, and education.
The cultural industry is flourishing and developing. In 2022, the added value of cultural and related industries reached 537.82 billion yuan, an increase of 197.6% compared to 2012, and the proportion of GDP increased from 3.4% to 4.5%; By the end of 2023, there will be 3246 public libraries, 43752 cultural centers (stations), and mass art museums in China, which are 59 times and 49 times higher than in 1949, respectively.
The sports industry is accelerating its pace. In 2022, the added value of the national sports industry will be 1309.2 billion yuan, an increase of 138.3% compared to 2015; By the end of 2023, there will be 4.59 million sports venues nationwide, with a per capita sports venue area of 2.9 square meters and a total length of 370000 kilometers of national fitness trails.
The vitality of tourism and related industries is surging. In 2022, the added value of tourism and related industries reached 446.72 billion yuan, an increase of 62.3% compared to 2014; In 2023, the number of domestic tourists reached 4.89 billion, making it the world's largest domestic tourism market.