Photo taken on Sept. 3, 2021 shows an automatic coffee-making robot during the 2021 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Zhang Chenlin)

BEIJING, July 7 (Xinhua) -- China's service trade value grew 22 percent year on year to 2.365 trillion yuan (about 352.98 billion U.S. dollars) in the first five months of 2022, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed on Thursday.

Of the total, service exports expanded 26.3 percent year on year to 1.15 trillion yuan, and service imports were 1.21 trillion yuan, up 18.2 percent from a year ago.

In May alone, service trade value stood at 456.28 billion yuan, up 22.2 percent year on year.

The growth of service trade exports outpaced import growth by 8.1 percentage points during the January-May period, resulting in a 46-percent drop in the service trade deficit, data showed.

During the first five months, China's trade of knowledge-intensive services maintained steady growth, rising 10 percent year on year to about 988.67 billion yuan, said the ministry.

Sectors such as telecommunications and information services saw rapid increases in exports, while insurance services were among the fastest growing areas in imports.

The tourism service trade continued to recover, with its trade value expanding 7.7 percent from a year ago to 330.84 billion yuan in the first five months.

In contrast to merchandise trade, services trade refers to the sale and delivery of intangible products such as transportation, tourism, telecommunications, construction, advertising, computing, and accounting.