BEIJING, April 20 (Xinhua) -- China's service industry continued to strengthen its role as a major growth driver in the first quarter of 2026, with the sector's value-added output accounting for 61.7 percent of GDP, up 0.4 percentage points year on year, official data showed.

The service sector contributed 63.2 percent to the country's economic growth during the period, up 4 percentage points from a year earlier, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

"Major service sectors have posted broadly robust revenue growth since the start of the year," said Peng Yongtao, an NBS official.

New business models and consumption scenarios continued to emerge, meeting demand for higher quality, greater diversity and convenience while driving growth in service consumption. In the first quarter, service retail sales grew 5.5 percent year on year, outpacing goods retail sales by 3.3 percentage points.

The services business activity index stood at 50.2 in March, up 0.5 points from February, indicating improving market activity.

Going forward, the country will take further steps to improve supply efficiency, stimulate market vitality, and cultivate new growth points to open up new prospects for the high-quality development of the service industry, Peng said. ■