The booth set up by Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province at the 2021 China International Fair for Trade in Services, which opened in Beijing on Sept 2. [Photo/Ningbo Daily]

Ningbo's imports and exports of services amounted to 102.49 billion yuan ($15.77 billion) in 2020, up 7.67 percent year-on-year, official data showed.

Trade in some emerging service sectors, including pharmaceutical R&D and software development, showed robust growth in the city, despite a drop in traditional sectors like tourism and education due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The growth momentum has also been sustained this year. In the first half of the year, Ningbo's trade in services totaled 62.24 billion yuan, rising by 40.8 percent. Exports reached 40.94 billion yuan, up 34.4 percent year-on-year.

Over the six-month period, the city's imports and exports of intellectual property royalties reached about 1.03 billion yuan, with more than 80 percent made up by Ningbo Geely Automobile Research & Development Co Ltd, Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corporation and Ningbo Schlemmer Auto Parts Co Ltd.

The local government has set the goal of lifting the proportion of trade in services in the city's foreign trade volume to 13 percent by 2025.

Thirteen enterprises from the city are now attending the 2021 China International Fair for Trade in Services, which opened in Beijing on Sept 2. Since its inception in 2012, CIFTIS has grown to become the largest fair for trade in services worldwide. It is also one of China's three major trade exhibitions, with the other two being the China Import and Export Fair and the China International Import Expo.