China services trade deficit widens to US$21b in March on tourist spree

[BEIJING] China's trade deficit in services widened to US$21.0 billion in March from February's US$16.0 billion, the foreign exchange regulator said on Wednesday.

March's gap was largely led by a US$19.1 billion gulf in spending between Chinese who spent more abroad than foreign tourists did in China, data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) showed.

In the first three months, the services trade deficit stood at US$57.7 billion yuan.

China had a US$24.6 billion surplus on trade of goods in March, according to SAFE data.

REUTERS