BEIJING, Dec. 1 -- China's service trade value grew 8.7 percent year on year in the first 10 months of this year, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed Friday.

The service trade value exceeded 5.34 trillion yuan (about 751.65 billion U.S. dollars) during the January-October period.

Of the total, service imports increased by 23.5 percent year on year to more than 3.16 trillion yuan, compared to a year ago the service exports fell 7.4 percent year on year to 2.18 trillion yuan.

China's trade of knowledge-intensive services maintained steady growth in the period, rising 8.9 percent year on year to about 2.23 trillion yuan.

Also during the January-October period, services related to the travel sector registered a notable recovery. Total trade value in this sector surged 71.7 percent from a year earlier to over 1.18 trillion yuan.

Exports and imports of travel services expanded by 53.8 percent and 73.2 percent year on year, respectively, according to the data.