BEIJING, Jan. 4 -- China's total service import and export volume grew 9 percent year on year in the first 11 months of 2023, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed Thursday.

The service trade volume exceeded 5.89 trillion yuan (about 829.61 billion U.S. dollars) during the January-November period last year, according to the ministry.

Of the total, service imports grew 23.5 percent year on year to top 3.48 trillion yuan, while service exports fell 6.8 percent year on year to 2.41 trillion yuan.

China's trade of knowledge-intensive services maintained steady growth during the period, rising 8.3 percent year on year to 2.44 trillion yuan.

Services related to the travel sector registered notable growth. The sector's total trade surged 73.5 percent year on year to more than 1.31 trillion yuan.

Exports and imports of travel services expanded 56 percent and 74.9 percent year on year, respectively.