BEIJING, April 6 -- China's services trade value continued to expand in the first two months of 2023, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed Thursday.

The total trade value stood at about 969.6 billion yuan (about 141 billion U.S. dollars) in the January-February period, rising 1.7 percent year on year, according to the ministry.

Imports of services climbed 14.7 percent year on year to 557.3 billion yuan in the period, while exports of services totaled over 412.3 billion yuan, down 11.8 percent from a year ago, resulting in a deficit of 144.9 billion yuan.

Trade in knowledge-intensive services reached nearly 406.9 billion yuan in the January-February period, expanding 6.4 percent year on year, the data showed.

Travel services saw notable recovery during the period, with trade in this sector advancing 39.8 percent from a year earlier to over 209.4 billion yuan, according to the ministry.