The opening ceremony of the Third China (Beijing) International Fair for Trade in Services. In 2013, Beijing's trade in services exceeded $110 billion, about 1.2 percent of the global total. Zou Hong / China Daily

Multinational exhibitors flock to city's National Convention Center

The exposition that opened this week in Beijing is expected to enhance the municipality's quality of trade in services as the city restructures its growth outlook, experts said.

"The headquarters of Beijing's services businesses - State-owned, private and foreign-invested ones - accounted for almost half of the municipality's total value-added businesses and about 60 percent of the city's income and tax revenue," Lu Yan, director general of Beijing's municipal commerce commission, said on Wednesday.

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In 2013, Beijing's trade in services exceeded $110 billion, about 1.2 percent of the global total. The first quarter of this year saw the city's trade in services reach $40 billion, up 54 percent-from a year earlier, according to the commission.

Although the city's economic growth recently eased its pace, the municipal government is adjusting to the slowdown by restructuring the growth to a model driven by services, high-end industries and innovation, which is also "

The city has attracted multinational businesses from different services sectors, including accounting, consulting, creative design, research and development and copyright trading, to set up headquarters or branches.

The Third China Beijing International Fair for Trade in Services, or CIFTIS, kicked off at the National Convention Center on May 28 and will last until June 1. Some 26,700 traders and 2,524 enterprises from 117 countries and regions will take part in the five-day event. With the theme of "Better Policies for Better Lives," the fair this year includes three kinds of activities - namely, exhibitions, forums and trade negotiations, occupying an exhibition area of 50,000 square meters.

Approved by China's State Council in 2012, CIFTIS is the first comprehensive exhibition event for trade in services worldwide under the auspices of China's Ministry of Commerce and the Beijing municipal government.