China's service sector growth cooled slightly in July but remained in expansionary territory, a private survey showed Thursday.

The Caixin General Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 51.5 in July from June's 51.6, according to the survey conducted by financial information service provider Markit and sponsored by Caixin Media Co.

 This came after an official survey showed that China's non-manufacturing sector expanded at a slightly slower pace, as the index for the service sector stood at 53.1 in July, down from 53.8 in June.

Caixin said that activity in China's service sector softened in July as the growth in new businesses weakened and hiring was sluggish.

The subindex of new orders fell for a second month, edging down to 51.8 after a large drop to 51.9 in June from 53.5 the previous month. July's number was the lowest reading since February 2016.