China's foreign merchandise trade surplus fell in September, the country’s forex regulator said yesterday.

Income from merchandise trade stood at US$178 billion last month, while expenditure was US$133.9 billion, resulting in a surplus of US$44 billion, according to data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

The September surplus was lower than US$52.7 billion in August and US$50 billion in July.

In terms of foreign service trade, China reported a deficit of US$23.3 billion in September, down from US$25.4 billion in August.

Distinct from merchandise trade, trade in services refers to the sale and delivery of intangible products such as transport, tourism, telecommunications, construction, advertising, computing and accounting.

China’s service trade volume grew from US$362.4 billion in 2010 to US$713 billion in 2015, doubling the average international growth speed in the sector.

China is aiming to increase its service trade volume to over US$1 trillion by 2020.

The State Council has pledged measures to improve the development of services trade, including gradually opening up the finance, education, culture and medical sectors.

(Source: Xinhua)