China’s Updated Catalogue of Encouraged Service Imports (2026): Opportunities for Global Service Providers

On February 25, 2026, China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) and six other government departments jointly released a revised version of the Catalogue of Encouraged Service Imports (hereinafter, the “catalogue”), marking the first major update to the policy framework since 2019. The revision forms part of China’s broader strategy to expand the import of high-quality services and support the country’s transition toward innovation-driven and sustainable economic growth.

The updated catalogue identifies priority service sectors where China encourages cross-border service imports. These include research and design services, environmental and sustainability solutions, consulting services, professional services, and healthcare-related services. By signalling policy support for these areas, the government aims to facilitate the inflow of specialized expertise that can strengthen domestic innovation, accelerate industrial upgrading, and improve public welfare.

The revision also reflects the evolving role of services in China’s economy. In 2025, China’s trade in services reached RMB 8.08 trillion yuan (US$1.18 trillion), with service imports specifically totalling RMB 4.46 trillion (US$646.6 billion), highlighting the growing importance of global service integration in China’s economic development.

For foreign service providers, the catalogue provides a useful policy signal indicating where international expertise is likely to find the most receptive regulatory and commercial environment in the Chinese market.

Policy background: China’s strategy to expand service imports
China’s introduction of the updated service import catalogue is closely tied to the country’s evolving macroeconomic priorities and its strategic shift toward higher-quality development. At the core of the policy rationale is Beijing’s emphasis on cultivating “new productive forces”, a concept highlighted in recent national economic policy discussions. This shift reflects China’s broader transition from traditional factordriven growth toward innovation-led development, with a strong focus on digital technologies, advanced manufacturing, and hightech services.

At the same time, the catalogue underscores China’s intention to meet the increasingly sophisticated needs of its domestic population. Rising income levels, demographic changes, and growing consumer expectations are accelerating demand for high-quality healthcare, environmental services, professional services, and other knowledge-intensive offerings. The revisions align with the 2024 State Council guidelines promoting the high-quality development of service trade through high-level opening-up, demonstrating the government’s aim to connect global expertise with structural needs at home. For foreign investors, this shift signals that China is importing services less to address basic supply shortages and more to support industrial upgrading, social development, and long-term economic transformation.

These policy drivers sit within a bigger strategic context. Over the past decade, China’s services trade has expanded rapidly as the economy moves beyond a manufacturing-dominated model toward a more diversified structure rooted in innovation and value-added service sectors. In line with State Council directives, the updated catalogue functions as an instrument to guide the expansion of high-quality service imports as part of China’s broader trade liberalization strategy.

Unlike goods trade, which is primarily governed by tariffs and customs regulations, services trade liberalization in China is often guided through sector-specific policy instruments, including pilot zones, regulatory reforms, and strategic catalogues identifying priority areas for international cooperation. The catalogye serves precisely this function. Rather than acting as a regulatory list that determines market access, it functions as a policy guidance tool, highlighting sectors where China seeks to leverage global expertise to support domestic development priorities.

The compilation of the catalogue follows several principles. Priority services should address China’s urgent development needs and contribute to high-quality growth, especially in areas that promote technological innovation, green transformation, and improvements in public welfare and quality of life. Additionally, the catalogue is designed to remain aligned with policies issued by sectoral regulators while excluding fields restricted for national security or prohibited by law.

The 2026 revision therefore reflects both evolving domestic capabilities and new strategic priorities.

Overview of the 2026 catalogue: What are the changes?

While the 2026 document introduces several notable additions, it maintains clear structural continuity with earlier editions. Core service categories from the 2019 catalogue, such as R&D and design services, environmental services, energysaving services, and consulting, remain intact. However, the new version sharpens and updates the scope of these areas to reflect technological progress and emerging industrial priorities.

Digital technology development services now explicitly emphasize nextgeneration technologies, including artificial intelligence, blockchain, and cloud computing. Likewise, the “resource utilization” category has been redefined to prioritize advanced recycling processes, such as the treatment of decommissioned EV batteries, wind turbine blades, and solar panels. These adjustments signal policymakers’ intent to channel support toward higher-value, technologically sophisticated service offerings.

To be more detailed, the updated catalogue identifies six major categories of services encouraged for import into China:

• Research and design services (expanded): Includes natural sciences, engineering, industrial design, digital technology (like AI, blockchain, and cloud computing), and intellectual property services;
• Energy conservation and environmental protection services (adjusted): Covers energy-saving engineering/management, resource utilization (recycling), and remanufacturing technologies;
• Environmental services (adjusted): Focuses on water/soil pollution treatment, ecological restoration, and synergistic pollution and carbon reduction governance;
• Consulting services: Spans technology R&D, tech management, general environmental consulting, and climate change consulting;
• Other professional services (newly added): Explicitly covers green building/low-carbon design and evaluation, as well as supply chain management services; and Medical and health services (newly added): Includes medical services for major diseases, eldercare, rehabilitation, and health promotion.

The first four categories already existed in the previous version of the catalogue, while two new categories (other professional services and medical and health services) have been introduced in the 2026 revision, reflecting shifting policy priorities.  By structuring the catalogue around these priority areas, policymakers aim to guide cross-border service trade toward sectors where international expertise can deliver the greatest value to China’s economy.

Newly introduced categories in the 2026 revision

The most structurally significant change in the 2026 revision is the introduction of two entirely new categories:

• Other professional services; and
• Medical and health services.

Their inclusion signals a deliberate policy shift toward importing advanced professional expertise and internationally competitive healthcare capabilities.

The addition of medical and health services, in particular, reflects China’s growing focus on healthcare system modernization. As domestic demand for specialist medical services and health technologies continues to outpace supply in certain segments, the government is clearly seeking to facilitate access to international expertise rather than restrict it.

Similarly, the broadened scope of professional services suggests recognition that foreign expertise in legal, financial, management consulting, and related fields continues to add value to China’s developing service economy, even as domestic providers mature.

Optimization of existing service items

Beyond adding new categories, the 2026 revision has refined and expanded several existing encouraged service areas. Notable adjustments include:

• Digital technology development services: Updated to capture a broader range of software engineering, AI-related services, and platform technologies.
• Technical testing and analysis services: Refined to reflect demand for advanced quality assurance and compliance testing capabilities, particularly in manufacturing and life sciences.
• Resource recycling and utilisation services: Adjusted to align with China’s dual carbon goals and the increasing strategic importance of circular economy models.

These changes suggest that the catalogue is being actively used as a responsive policy instrument rather than a static list, adapting to China’s evolving technological and environmental landscape.

Removal of certain service imports

The revision also sees the removal of certain services that were previously encouraged for import. The most notable example is the removal of services solely related to air pollution control, a sector where China has significantly strengthened its domestic service supply over the past several years.

This removal should not be read as a diminishment of environmental policy priorities. Rather, it reflects the catalogue’s role as a gap-filling mechanism: when domestic capabilities reach a sufficient level, the rationale for encouraging foreign imports in that area weakens. Foreign service providers in removed categories may find that competitive dynamics (rather than policy support) will now define their market position in China.

Deep dive: What services are encouraged for import now?

Research and design services

Research and design services constitute the first major category of encouraged service imports and reflect China’s policy emphasis on strengthening innovation capacity and technological development.

The catalogue encourages Chinese entities to procure research and development services from overseas institutions across a broad range of scientific disciplines. These include research in the natural sciences and engineering fields such as physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, earth sciences, mechanical engineering, materials science, environmental engineering, and power engineering.

In addition to traditional research fields, the catalogue explicitly highlights emerging technological domains. These include artificial intelligence (AI), quantum science, biomedical engineering, and bioinformatics, reflecting China’s growing focus on frontier technologies and interdisciplinary research.

Industrial design and creative design services are also included within this category. These services involve the design of industrial products, transportation equipment, and production processes, as well as creative and aesthetic design services for consumer products. By integrating engineering principles, artistic design, and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, these services can enhance product competitiveness and support the upgrading of China’s manufacturing sector.

Another key area is digital technology development services, including research and development in virtual reality, AI, blockchain, cloud computing, and big data technologies. These technologies support applications such as smart cities, intelligent construction systems, smart residential communities, and digital urban infrastructure.

The catalogue also includes integrated circuit research and design services, covering chip design and related technical development and maintenance services. This reflects China’s broader strategy to strengthen semiconductor innovation and reduce dependence on foreign technologies in critical supply chains.

Finally, the research and design category includes services aimed at reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions across product life cycles. These services involve low-carbon product design, environmentally optimized engineering solutions, and other design services intended to support China’s transition toward greener production systems.

Technical testing, equipment inspection, and intellectual property (IP) services

Within the research and design category, the catalogue also emphasizes technical testing and analytical services, which are critical for quality control, industrial safety, and technological development.

Encouraged services include laboratory testing, measurement, and analytical services for a variety of products and materials, including fuels, metals, food products, and chemicals. Testing services related to computer-aided design simulations, life sciences research, medical technologies, aviation equipment, and semiconductor technologies are also covered.

The catalogue further includes services for the inspection, testing, and maintenance of major industrial equipment. These services apply to machinery such as aircraft engines, transportation equipment including automobiles and ships, machine tools, communication devices, and other equipment containing mechanical or electrical components.

In addition, the catalogue highlights intellectual property services, reflecting China’s ongoing efforts to strengthen its innovation ecosystem. Encouraged services include legal advisory and consulting services related to patents, trademarks, copyrights, integrated circuit layout design rights, and plant variety rights.

These services may also involve intellectual property licensing, technology transfer, investment and financing advisory, rights protection consulting, intellectual property management services, and information analysis.

Encouraging international cooperation in these areas supports China’s efforts to enhance intellectual property protection and promote innovation-driven economic development.

Energy conservation and circular economy services

Energy conservation services form the second major category in the catalogue and are closely aligned with China’s sustainability and industrial efficiency goals.

The catalogue encourages services related to energy-saving engineering solutions, particularly for projects involving advanced energy-efficient technologies, processes, equipment, and materials. These services may include engineering retrofits aimed at reducing energy consumption in existing industrial or infrastructure projects.

Another important subcategory is energy management services, which involve professional consulting and operational services designed to improve energy efficiency. These may include energy diagnostics, energy-saving project design, investment and financing services, operational management, and energy performance contracting arrangements.

In addition, the catalogue emphasizes resource recycling and circular economy services, reflecting China’s growing policy focus on sustainable resource utilization.

Encouraged services include technologies and solutions that convert industrial waste, municipal solid waste, and agricultural or forestry waste into reusable resources. These services may involve the recycling of industrial solid waste, waste gases, and waste residues, as well as the recycling of urban household waste.

The catalogue also specifically references recycling technologies for scrapped vehicles, electronic waste, and retired electric vehicle batteries, as well as recycling solutions for emerging energy equipment such as wind turbines and photovoltaic systems.

Environmental services

Environmental services represent another key category of encouraged service imports and are closely aligned with China’s environmental governance priorities.

The catalogue highlights services related to water pollution control and ecological restoration, including the treatment and purification of industrial wastewater, domestic sewage, and agricultural runoff. It also encourages services aimed at restoring damaged aquatic ecosystems in rivers, lakes, and marine environments.

Services related to soil pollution remediation are also included. These involve physical, chemical, and biological methods for removing or neutralizing pollutants in soil, particularly in contaminated agricultural land and industrial sites.

Consulting services

Consulting services constitute another major category within the catalogue, focusing on technical advisory services that support innovation, industrial transformation, and environmental governance.

Encouraged services include technical research consulting, which involves advisory services related to research and development projects, feasibility studies, technology forecasting, and specialized technical investigations. These services may support emerging sectors such as intelligent transportation systems, autonomous vehicles, and artificial intelligence applications.

On the other hand, the catalogue encourages technical management consulting services, which support technological upgrades and engineering projects. These services may include advisory support for the introduction of advanced international technologies and equipment, as well as technical guidance provided by foreign specialists.

Environmental consulting services are also included, covering activities such as environmental investigations, environmental impact assessments, environmental supervision, environmental engineering consulting, and environmental management system certification.

In addition, the catalogue highlights climate-related consulting services, including:

• Greenhouse gas monitoring and accounting;
• Carbon trading advisory services;
• Carbon tax advisory services;
• Product carbon footprint assessments;
• Climate change impact assessments; and
• Climate-related investment and financing consulting.

Other professional services

A newly introduced category in the 2026 catalogue is other professional services, which reflects China’s increasing demand for specialized expertise in areas beyond traditional technical consulting.

This category includes services related to green building design, evaluation, and certification. These services support environmentally sustainable urban development and help reduce energy consumption, noise pollution, and carbon emissions throughout the lifecycle of buildings.

The catalogue also includes supply chain management services, which involve managing the flow of goods, information, and financial resources across the entire supply chain. These services may include procurement and supplier management, inventory management, logistics and transportation coordination, production planning, risk management, and customer relationship management.

Medical and health services

Another newly introduced category in the catalogue is medical and health services, reflecting the growing importance of healthcare services in China’s social and economic development.

The catalogue encourages the import of services related to major disease diagnosis and treatment, including the development of diagnostic technologies and pharmaceutical research services conducted by overseas institutions.

It also supports medical services provided by foreign-invested healthcare institutions operating in China, as well as healthcare services provided by foreign professionals under existing legal and regulatory frameworks.

Digital health services are also included. These involve the use of internet technologies to provide services such as health management, medical consultations, and telemedicine.

In addition, the catalogue promotes rehabilitation and health promotion services, particularly those that integrate digital technologies such as:

• Smart assistive devices;
• Wearable health monitoring equipment; and
• AI-based healthcare platforms.

These services support home-based health monitoring, chronic disease management, elderly care services, and broader health promotion initiatives. Demand for such services is expected to increase as China’s population continues to age and healthcare consumption rises.

Implications for foreign service providers

For multinational companies and foreign service providers, the revised catalogue presents a useful map of where government policy is aligned with (and may actively support) their market participation. Key opportunities include:

• Professional services firms: Particularly in management consulting, legal advisory, and financial services, will find enhanced policy backing for their cross-border service offerings.
• Healthcare and medical services companies: Including hospital management consultancies, medical device service providers, and health technology firms, stand to benefit from the new category’s inclusion.
• Digital and technical services providers: Especially those working in AI application development, advanced software engineering, and testing, will find their services more clearly positioned within an encouraged framework.

Practical benefits for companies whose services fall within encouraged categories can include stronger policy support for cross-border service transactions, potential facilitation within designated pilot zones (such as Free Trade Zones and Service Trade Innovation Demonstration Zones) and greater ease of engagement with government-affiliated procurement processes.

However, it is important to note that inclusion in the catalogue does not guarantee market access or eliminate regulatory hurdles. Foreign service providers will still need to navigate sector-specific licensing requirements, local partnership structures, and evolving data governance rules.

Broader implications for China’s services trade

The 2026 catalogue revision reinforces a broader pattern in China’s services trade policy: a calibrated openness that targets specific areas of strategic need while allowing domestic capabilities to absorb and compete in more mature sectors.

By adding healthcare and professional services while removing categories where domestic supply has strengthened, the Chinese government is signalling a dynamic and sector-specific approach to import facilitation rather than a blanket opening or closing of its services market. This approach is consistent with China’s stated goal of building a high-standard open economy: one that is selectively open to foreign participation in areas that serve national strategic objectives.

The role of service imports in supporting China’s innovation agenda, sustainability commitments, and public health system also deserves attention. As China pursues its dual carbon goals and seeks to modernise its healthcare infrastructure, the appetite for internationally sourced expertise in these domains is likely to remain significant over the medium term.

Conclusion

The 2026 revision to China’s Catalogue of Encouraged Service Imports reflects a maturing and increasingly targeted approach to services trade liberalisation. With the addition of medical and health services and other professional services, adjustments to technology and environmental categories, and the removal of areas where domestic capacity is now sufficient, the revised catalogue offers a clear signal of where Beijing sees continued value in foreign service participation.

For foreign businesses, the catalogue is an important (if not exhaustive) guide to policy-aligned opportunity in China’s services market. Companies in the encouraged sectors should consider how their offerings can be positioned to take advantage of the supportive policy environment, while remaining attentive to the regulatory and operational realities of operating in China.

As China continues to refine its services trade framework, monitoring future updates to instruments like this catalogue will remain essential for any international business with interests in the Chinese market.