In the first quarter, various regions and departments thoroughly implemented the decisions and deployments of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council, strengthened the implementation of policies aimed at expanding and improving the service sector, and accelerated the construction of a new, high-quality, and efficient service industry system. The service sector economy achieved rapid growth, with new growth drivers accelerating, the potential for service consumption continuously being released, and overall market expectations remaining stable.

I. A Strong Start for the Service Sector Economy with Continuous Improvement in Quality and Efficiency The service sector experienced rapid growth. Preliminary calculations show that in the first quarter, the value-added of the service sector reached 20.6117 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.2%. The service sector's value-added accounted for 61.7% of the GDP, an increase of 0.4 percentage points compared to the same period last year. Its contribution to economic growth was 63.2%, up 4.0 percentage points year-on-year, driving GDP growth by 3.2 percentage points. In March, the service sector production index grew by 5.0% compared to the same period last year, maintaining a rapid growth trend.

Corporate production and operations showed positive momentum. Since the beginning of the year, the operating revenue of major service industries has generally grown rapidly, particularly reflecting trends of digital technology empowerment and accelerated development in consumer services. From January to February, the operating revenue of large-scale enterprises in software and information technology services, as well as internet and related services, increased by 14.4% and 12.1% year-on-year, respectively. Similarly, large-scale enterprises in cultural and arts services, and residential services saw their operating revenue grow by 16.1% and 10.0%, respectively.

Service trade remained stable with an improving structure. From January to February, China's service exports reached 442.49 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 4.7%. The proportion of knowledge-intensive service imports and exports in the total service trade reached 42.5%, up 0.3 percentage points from the same period last year. The visa-free transit policy contributed to sustained growth in inbound tourism, with the number of foreign entries and exits in the first quarter increasing by 22.3% year-on-year. Travel service exports from January to February amounted to 60.96 billion yuan, a rise of 22.5%. The service sector's openness expanded, with actual utilized foreign capital in the sector reaching 111.22 billion yuan from January to February, accounting for 68.9% of the nation's total actual utilized foreign capital.

II. New Growth Drivers in the Service Sector Expand, Accelerating Transformation and Upgrading Modern services are leading the development. In the first quarter, the value-added of information transmission, software and information technology services, and leasing and business services increased by 10.6% and 12.2% year-on-year, respectively, collectively driving the service sector's value-added growth by 1.9 percentage points, an improvement of 0.2 percentage points from the same period last year. In March, the production indices for information transmission, software and information technology services, and leasing and business services grew by 11.8% and 10.1% year-on-year, respectively, accelerating by 1.7 and 1.9 percentage points compared to the January-February period. From January to February, telecommunications service volume increased by 8.4% year-on-year. The quality and efficiency of financial services in supporting the real economy continued to strengthen, with the financial sector's value-added growing 6.5% year-on-year in the first quarter. The securities market remained active, with the trading volume of stocks on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges increasing by 26.9% year-on-year and the trading value rising by 67.9%.

Innovation vitality continues to be unleashed. With the deep integration of "Artificial Intelligence+" across multiple fields and the continuous advancement of the commercialization of scientific and technological achievements, emerging service industries are flourishing. From January to February, the operating revenue of large-scale enterprises in strategic emerging services and high-tech services grew by 8.0% and 6.7% year-on-year, respectively. Within this, inspection and testing services, along with R&D and design services, increased by 10.5% and 10.1%, respectively. The deep integration of digital technology with the real economy is empowering industrial upgrading. In the first quarter, the transaction value of software and information service platforms grew by 11.7% year-on-year. From January to February, the operating revenue of large-scale digital technology application enterprises increased by 10.8% year-on-year. Investment in high-tech services continues to optimize the supply of services, with fixed asset investment in high-tech services rising 12.3% year-on-year in the first quarter. Specifically, investment in professional technical services, information services, and R&D and design services grew by 29.5%, 20.9%, and 15.8%, respectively.

The service consumption market is vibrant. New business formats, models, and scenarios are emerging, meeting demands for quality, diversity, and convenience, and effectively driving growth in service consumption. In the first quarter, service retail sales increased by 5.5% year-on-year, 3.3 percentage points higher than the growth of goods retail sales. The supply of high-quality cultural and tourism products is abundant, with deep integration of tourism and performing arts. In the first quarter, transaction values for tourism, recreation and entertainment services, and cultural service platforms grew by 12.8% and 8.2% year-on-year, respectively. From January to February, the operating revenue of large-scale travel agencies and related services increased by 14.8% year-on-year.

III. Service Sector Sentiment Rises into Expansion Territory, Future Outlook is Positive In March, the Services Business Activity Index stood at 50.2%, up 0.5 percentage points from the previous month, indicating continued improvement in market activity within the service sector. Industries such as railway transport, telecommunications, radio and television and satellite transmission services, monetary financial services, and insurance all had Business Activity Indexes above 55.0%, indicating high景气 and rapid growth in business volume. Regarding market expectations, the Services Business Activity Expectation Index was 54.8%, remaining at a relatively high level.

In the next stage, it is essential to thoroughly implement the spirit of the National Conference on the Service Sector, deeply carry out actions to expand and improve the service sector, continuously expand effective supply, fully stimulate the vitality of market entities, continually cultivate new growth points in the service sector, promote smooth connectivity across all links of the economic cycle, and better meet the personalized, diverse, and high-quality demands of the market and residents, striving to create a new phase of high-quality development for the service sector.