BEIJING, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- China's service trade maintained steady growth in the first 11 months of the year, with total imports and exports reaching over 7.2 trillion yuan (approximately 1.02 trillion U.S. dollars), up 7.1 percent year on year, the Ministry of Commerce said on Wednesday.

Specifically, service exports rose 13.4 percent to nearly 3.2 trillion yuan during this period, while imports increased 2.5 percent to more than 4 trillion yuan, according to the ministry's data. Notably, the service trade deficit narrowed by 279.63 billion yuan compared to the same period of 2024.

Knowledge-intensive services saw continued growth in trade, with imports and exports totaling roughly 2.73 trillion yuan -- up 5.6 percent year on year.

Travel service trade totaled nearly 1.98 trillion yuan, an increase of 8.2 percent compared with a year earlier. Specifically, travel services exports surged 51.3 percent during this period, according to data. ■