BEIJING, May 17 (Xinhua) -- China's service trade surged 11.4 percent year on year in the first three months this year, faster than the same period last year, according to a foreign trade report released by the Ministry of Commerce (MOC).

In the first three months, the total value of exports and imports in the sector stood at 1.25 trillion yuan (about 197 billion U.S. dollars), according to the report issued last week.

Exports of trade in services rose 12.6 percent to 413.52 billion yuan, while imports climbed 10.8 percent to 839.52 billion yuan, resulting in a deficit of 426 billion yuan.

Trade in services refers to the sale and delivery of intangible products such as transportation, tourism, telecommunications, construction, advertising, computing, and accounting.

China has taken steps to improve the development of trade in services, including gradually opening up the finance, education, culture, and medical treatment sectors.

In January this year, a government-backed investment fund of 30 billion yuan was launched to guide the development of the service trade industry.

China has opened 120 industries related to service trade for foreign investors, surpassing the goal of 100 industries set when China joined the World Trade Organization nearly two decades ago.