Why does the State Council mention the service industry twice in half a month?

The service industry, a field closely related to our daily lives, has recently been given new strategic significance.

On March 27, the State Council’s executive meeting pointed out that the service industry is an important component of the modern industrial system, relating to the overall high-quality development and modernization.

In the current economic situation, why emphasize the importance of the service industry so much?

The answer may lie in the two words “overall situation.” On the one hand, the service industry is a reservoir for job absorption, and its stability is crucial to the baseline of people’s livelihoods; on the other hand, the upgrading of producer services directly relates to the value and competitiveness of manufacturing, serving as a key to elevating the industrial chain to a higher end.

Data shows that by 2025, the value added of China’s service industry will reach 80.8879 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.4%; the contribution rate of the service industry to national economic growth will reach 61.4%, an increase of 3.7 percentage points compared to the previous year.

It can be said that the capability of the service industry largely determines the discourse power of a country or region within the modern industrial system.

Notably, on March 16, the State Council’s eleventh plenary meeting emphasized the need to grasp a number of key tasks that are highly attractive and leverageable, among which it mentioned “actively planning to promote the expansion and quality improvement of the service industry.”

Within half a month, the State Council proposed requirements for the development of the service industry for the second time, indicating that the service industry has become an important focus of current economic work, and its strategic position is being elevated to a new height.

The high frequency of deployment not only highlights the key role of the service industry in stabilizing growth and adjusting the structure but also signifies that the next macro policies will focus on this area.

The two development directions proposed in this meeting clearly outline the framework for the future of the service industry.

First, producer services will extend towards specialization and the high-end of the value chain. This indicates that fields such as research and development design, information technology, modern logistics, and financial services—viewed as the adhesives and boosters for manufacturing—need to break free from low-end involution and move towards a more specialized, refined, and internationally competitive direction.

Second, life services will achieve high-quality, diverse, and convenient development. This directly responds to the people’s aspirations for a better life. The public’s demand for services in education, healthcare, elderly care, cultural tourism, and housekeeping has long shifted from “whether there is” to “how good it is.” The combination of “high quality,” “diversity,” and “convenience” aims to build a more compassionate and efficient social security network.

Achieving these goals requires precise policy support. The meeting revealed several key focal points during its deployment.

First is to focus on key areas. Breakthroughs should be made first in key fields with strong driving forces, by improving policy support and institutional mechanisms to unblock the bottlenecks that hinder development. For instance, issues like “entry without operation” and “inconsistent regulatory standards” in some areas are expected to be resolved through systematic reforms.

Second is to provide support. The meeting clearly stated that financial, fiscal, and element security support should be increased.

In fact, relevant policies have already been initiated. In January of this year, the Ministry of Finance and four other departments jointly issued a notice extending the implementation period of the loan interest subsidy policy for service industry entities until December 31, 2026; the Ministry of Finance and six other departments clarified that tax and fee preferential policies for community family services such as elderly care, childcare, and housekeeping will continue until the end of 2027.

Finally, it is about building synergy. The service industry involves a wide range of sectors and multiple regulatory departments, making it easy to have a fragmented governance situation. The meeting especially emphasized the need to form a collaborative effort and proposed the establishment of multi-dimensional comprehensive evaluation indicators.

This proposal carries significant meaning. It implies that future evaluations of service industry development will no longer be limited to economic growth rates but will comprehensively consider structural optimization, innovation-driven factors, social benefits, and other dimensions, thereby guiding all parties toward a more scientific and proactive involvement in the broader development of the service industry.

The deployment of this meeting is based not only on the current need to stabilize growth but also on strategic considerations for long-term transformation. It can be anticipated that as various measures are implemented, the service industry will inject stronger momentum into high-quality development.

“Sanjilihe” Studio