BEIJING, Feb. 12 -- China's services outsourcing industry saw steady expansion last year, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce.

Chinese firms inked services outsourcing contracts worth a total of nearly 2.87 trillion yuan (about 404 billion U.S. dollars) in 2023, up 17.6 percent year on year, according to the data.

The executed contract value stood at approximately 1.96 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 18.6 percent.

Of the total, the value of offshore services outsourcing contracts rose 12.9 percent year on year, reaching nearly 1.49 trillion yuan.

Outsourcing refers to the hiring of a third party to produce goods or carry out services typically undertaken by in-house employees.