Trade surges with China's tech, openness

BEIJING — In Shougang Park, which was formerly an ironworks site in western Beijing, new technologies from AI to cloud computing and green innovation were on display amid the rusting blast furnaces and steel relics.

The 2025 China International Fair for Trade in Services, featuring digital innovation and intelligent technologies, was held in the park from Wednesday to Sunday, gathering nearly 2,000 enterprises, including Global Fortune 500 companies and leading industrial enterprises, in search of new business opportunities in China.

Global exhibitors and executives are optimistic about the growth and future of China's international services trade, hailing the country's consistent policies to open up its services sector as a catalyst for global trade and shared growth.

Robust growth

For Philips, a Dutch medical technology leader with a four-decade presence in China, the fair reflects robust momentum in the country's healthcare sector. Returning to CIFTIS for the fifth consecutive year, Philips unveiled its latest magnetic resonance system, a breakthrough that shortens medical scanning times and boosts efficiency.

"The growing awareness of healthcare and the leap in medical technologies have fueled the sector's growth in China," said Yang Donglan, vice-president of Philips Greater China. "Every year at CIFTIS, we feel China's business environment becoming more open and inclusive, giving us the confidence to deepen our roots here."

Tourism company TUI China shares that optimism. The Germany-based firm sees inbound travel gaining fresh momentum.

Technology has been a boost to tourism, said TUI China CEO Guido Brettschneider, adding that modern technologies — ranging from translation tools that enable tour guides to communicate in multiple languages to mobile payment options like Alipay and WeChat Pay for overseas visitors — have reduced barriers and enhanced traveler satisfaction.

The numbers bear this out. From January to July, China's total services trade reached 4.58 trillion yuan ($642.7 billion), up 8.2 percent year-on-year. Tourism, a pillar of this growth, totaled 1.26 trillion yuan, surging 10.4 percent, according to a report from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce in early September.

The growth is attracting more foreign partners. Australia, this year's guest country of honor at CIFTIS, sent its largest-ever delegation of nearly 60 organizations and companies.

On the event's opening day, Australia signed 15 agreements with Chinese partners in sectors including education, healthcare, finance and culture.

"China remains a market of tremendous potential in the service sector," said Dominic Trindade, commercial minister at the Australian Embassy in Beijing. "Australia is committed to the Chinese market and our service providers are ready to develop new partnerships here."