A delivery service provider sorts packages for shipping to e-commerce consumers in Kunshan, Jiangsu province. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

BEIJING — China's service trade fell in the first two months of 2020 due to the novel coronavirus outbreak, but the trade structure has kept improving with narrowing deficit, data from the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) showed Tuesday.

Service trade totaled 740.31 billion yuan (about US104.6 billion) during the January-February period, down 11.6 percent year-on-year, the MOC said in an online statement.

The ministry highlighted strong resilience in China's trade of knowledge-intensive services amid the epidemic, which increased 1 percent year-on-year to 276.57 billion yuan

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Service exports amounted to 275.07 billion yuan, down 6 percent, while imports fell 14.6 percent to 465.23 billion yuan.

The service trade deficit stood at 190.16 billion yuan during the period, down 24.6 percent from the same period last year.

The ministry highlighted strong resilience in China's trade of knowledge-intensive services amid the epidemic, which increased 1 percent year-on-year to 276.57 billion yuan.

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