China's trade in services increased 3 percent year-on-year, reaching 3.6 trillion yuan ($505 billion) from January to August, according to the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) on Saturday. The trade deficit in services has narrowed as exports increased 9.7 percent to 1.3 trillion yuan and imports dropped 0.3 percent to 2.3 trillion yuan.

According to a statement by MOFCOM, exports of services account for 35.4 percent of the total services trade from January to August, representing a 2.1 percentage point growth year-on-year. The increase of services exports in August stood at 11.5 percent, higher than the previous seven months. 

The deficit in services trade dropped 117.5 billion yuan from the previous year to 1.05 trillion yuan. 

The high-end services sector, including information services and business services, has witnessed booming growth. From January to August, trade volume in knowledge-intensive services increased 10.6 percent to 1.2 trillion yuan, 7.6 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate in the sector, accounting for 34 percent of total services trade. Personal recreation and cultural services, telecommunications, information and financial services enjoyed exceptionally high growth.