BEIJING, June 22 -- China's service outsourcing industry saw steady expansion in the first five months of this year, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce.

Chinese firms inked service outsourcing contracts worth about 815.9 billion yuan (about 120.6 billion U.S. dollars) in the January-May period, up 12.3 percent year on year.

The executed contract value stood at 550.4 billion yuan during this period, with a year-on-year increase of 18 percent.

Of the total, the value of offshore service outsourcing contracts rose 12.3 percent compared to the same period last year, reaching 463.6 billion yuan.

In terms of the executed contract value, offshore service outsourcing involving the United States, the European Union and members of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership expanded 23.5 percent, 15.6 percent and 21.1 percent year on year, respectively, in the first five months of 2023.

Outsourcing refers to hiring an outside party to carry out services or produce goods typically undertaken by in-house employees.