On July 30, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Commerce announced that consumer spending in the Chinese capital has maintained a rapid growth in the first half of 2018, with a year-on-year increase of 8.1 percent, reaching a total of 1,199.97 billion yuan (US$175.91 billion).

In particular, spending on services was the main driver of the overall growth, accounting for 55 percent of the total. It reached 659.38 billion yuan in the first six months of this year, increasing by 11.3 percent year-on-year. The biggest consumer spending has shifted from goods to services. Among all services, the two fastest growing categories are spending in transportation and communication (rising by 14.2 percent), and spending in education, culture and entertainment (increasing 12.5 percent).

In 2018, more and more consumers in Beijing shifted their spending towards life quality improvements. In the first half of this year, retail spending totaled 539.79 billion yuan with an increase of 4.4 percent. Commodity spending in the categories of household electrical appliances, audio and video equipment, daily necessities, and office supplies has had a major impact on the city's total retail sales.

Meanwhile, 743 foreign-invested enterprises were established in Beijing in the first six months, which was a year-on-year increase of 23.4 percent. The actual use of foreign capital reached US$10.62 billion, an increase of 6.2 percent, which contributed to the completion of 78.7 percent of the estimated annual investment target.

Since May 2015, Beijing has launched a series of measures on further opening up its service industry, making it the only pilot city in China. Through three years of trials, the effectiveness of its efforts to attract investments in the service industry has gradually emerged, and more international high-end elements have gathered in Beijing.

The expansion in the service industry has attracted nearly 50 percent of the city's total investment in the first half of 2018. The city saw 702 new foreign-invested enterprises, an annual increase of 21.5 percent. The foreign capital actually used in the service industry was US$9.27 billion, accounting for 87.2 percent of the total. Among the newly established foreign-invested enterprises in the service industry, 566 were in the expansion's key sectors, contributing to an actual use of US$5.14 billion foreign capital.

Notably, the actual use of foreign capital in the high-tech service industry has grown rapidly. In the first six months of 2018, Beijing witnessed the establishment of 375 foreign-invested enterprises in the high-tech service industry. The actual use of foreign capital for the utilization of scientific and technological achievements increased by 29.4 percent year-on-year, while research, development and design services rose by 150 percent.

Investments from Europe, the U.S., Japan, and South Korea have all grown rapidly. In the first half of 2018, the actual amount of foreign investment from major EU countries and the U.S. reached US$530 million and US$340 million, respectively increasing by 150 percent and 240 percent. Investment from Japan and South Korea increased by 180 percent and almost 300 percent respectively over the same period.

As Beijing continues expanding and opening up its service sector, the city has also looked to export its services and high-tech products.

The Beijing Customs revealed that the import and export of goods reached 1.29 trillion yuan in the first half of 2018, an increase of 20.7 percent year-on-year. Total import value was 1.06 trillion yuan, while exports reached 234.34 billion yuan. Growth rates of all these figures were higher than the national average.

In terms of the major export commodities, the export of mechanical and electrical products reached 98.9 billion yuan, an increase of 7.8 percent, while the export of high-tech products was 43.37 billion yuan, an increase of 20.6 percent.

According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, from January to May, Beijing's import and export in service trade reached 422.76 billion yuan, an increase of 13.4 percent year-on-year, 1.4 percentage points higher than the national average growth rate. The service export was 145.7 billion yuan, an increase of 40 percent year-on-year. In particular, the export of construction services, with an increase of 21.41 billion yuan or 220 percent year-on-year, had the fastest growth rate and the largest increase in all service categories. The export of new services was 90.92 billion yuan, accounting for 62.4 percent of the total, an increase of 1.7 percentage points compared to the end of last year.

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