China's service sector investment grows 10.5% in Jan-Apr 2026

In the first four months of 2026, China's service sector investment increased by 10.5% year-on-year, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The rapid development of artificial intelligence drove investment in the information service sector up by 18.1%. Environmental monitoring and governance services investment grew 11.8%, while professional technical services investment rose 8.2%.

Innovation-driven development continued to show results, with intellectual property product investment accelerating. During January-April 2026, intellectual property product investment increased by 8.9% year-on-year, 1.0 percentage point faster than the pace in the first quarter. This category accounted for 13.6% of total investment, contributing 1.1 percentage points to overall investment growth.

The large-scale equipment renewal policy continued to take effect, with equipment purchase investment playing a notable driving role. In the January-April period, investment in equipment and tool purchases rose by 11.5% year-on-year, contributing 1.8 percentage points to total investment growth. This category represented 18.2% of total investment, up by 2.2 percentage points from the same period last year.

Looking ahead, the NBS stated that efforts will be made to thoroughly implement the decisions and plans of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council. Policy tools such as central budget funds, ultra-long-term special government bonds, and local government special bonds will continue to be utilized. The 109 major projects and initiatives under the "15th Five-Year Plan" will be steadily advanced. The government will accelerate the cultivation and expansion of new quality productive forces, vigorously promote the high-end, intelligent, and green development of the manufacturing sector, and deepen the implementation of policies to support the private economy. The aim is to further stimulate private investment, continuously expand the scale of effective investment, and better leverage investment's key role in optimizing the supply structure.

Source: National Bureau of Statistics of China. Original: https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/sjjd/202605/t20260518_1963735.html