... fourth (after the USA, European Union and Japan) in terms of service trade volume, notching $419.1 billion in 2011 compared with $66 billion in 2000.
Driving consumer demand are home services, education and training, medical care, financing and technology. Tourism is also fuelling the boom with the number of outbound tourists expected to reach 88 million come 2015.
The Fair, which opened today [28-May-12] expects to attract more than 22,000 service providers from 82 countries and regions to foster trade in the retail sector over the next five days.
Qiu Hong, China's Assistant Minister of Commerce, announced that the Fair will become an annual event, held in the National Convention Center from May 28 to June 1 every year. CIFTIS, themed "Trade in Services: New Vision, New Opportunity and New Development", is sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce and organized by the People's Government of Beijing Municipality.
CIFTIS is the only platform that covers the nation's major service trade industries:
- Commercial service
- Telecommunication service
- Architecture and Engineering Services
- Financial service
- Tourism service
- Entertainment and Sports service
- Transport service.
Over the past decade, China's domestic consumption maintained an annual gropwth rate of 15%, expected to be maintained into the foreseeable future.
With the continuous rapid growth of China's consumption, which triggers a significant increase in imports, service imports from abroad are expected to surpass $1.25 trillion in the next five years.