In the first quarter, the service economy experienced relatively rapid growth, with new growth drivers accelerating and the potential for service consumption continuing to be released, contributing to overall stable market expectations.
The service sector started the year on a strong footing, with both the scale and quality of development improving. The sector achieved rapid expansion. Preliminary calculations show that the value-added of the service industry reached 20,611.7 billion yuan in the first quarter, a year-on-year increase of 5.2%. The service sector's value-added accounted for 61.7% of the GDP, 0.4 percentage points higher than the same period last year. Business operations showed positive momentum. 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. Revenue for large-scale cultural arts and residential service enterprises grew by 16.1% and 10.0%, respectively.
Service trade remained stable with an improving structure. In the first two months, China's service exports reached 442.49 billion yuan, up 4.7% year-on-year. The proportion of knowledge-intensive service imports and exports in the total trade volume was 42.5%, an increase of 0.3 percentage points from the same period last year. Visa-free transit policies contributed to sustained growth in inbound tourism, with the number of foreign entries and exits in the first quarter rising by 22.3% year-on-year. The service sector saw increased openness, with actual utilized foreign capital in the sector amounting to 111.22 billion yuan from January to February, accounting for 68.9% of the nation's total utilized foreign capital.
New growth drivers within the service sector expanded and matured, accelerating the pace of transformation and upgrading. Modern service industries led the development. In the first quarter, the value-added of information transmission, software and information technology services, along with leasing and business services, grew by 10.6% and 12.2% year-on-year, respectively, collectively contributing 1.9 percentage points to the growth of the service sector's value-added. The financial sector's effectiveness in serving the real economy continued to strengthen, with its value-added increasing by 6.5% year-on-year in the first quarter.
Innovation vitality continued to be unleashed. From January to February, the operating revenue of large-scale strategic emerging service enterprises and high-tech service enterprises increased by 8.0% and 6.7% year-on-year, respectively. The deep integration of digital technology with the real economy empowered industrial upgrading, with the transaction volume on software and information service platforms rising by 11.7% year-on-year in the first quarter. Investment in high-tech services continued to optimize service supply, with fixed-asset investment in high-tech services growing by 12.3% year-on-year in the first quarter.
The service consumption market was active. In the first quarter, service retail sales increased by 5.5% year-on-year. The supply of high-quality cultural and tourism products was abundant, with deep integration between tourism and performing arts. The transaction volume for tourism, sightseeing, entertainment services, and cultural service platforms grew by 12.8% and 8.2% year-on-year, respectively, in the first quarter.
Service sector sentiment rose into expansionary territory, indicating positive future expectations. In March, the Services Business Activity Index stood at 50.2%, up 0.5 percentage points from the previous month, reflecting continued improvement in market activity. Regarding market expectations, the Services Business Activity Expectation Index was 54.8%, remaining at a relatively high level.
In the next stage, efforts should focus on continuously expanding effective supply, fostering new growth points within the service sector, and better meeting the personalized, diversified, and high-quality demands of the market and residents.