Services trade grows 8% in first half

China's services trade maintained steady growth in the first half, with total imports and exports reaching 3.89 trillion yuan ($544.9 billion), up 8 percent year-on-year, the Ministry of Commerce said. Specifically, service exports rose 15 percent to 1.69 trillion yuan, while imports increased 3.2 percent to 2.2 trillion yuan, according to the ministry's data. The services trade deficit narrowed by 152.2 billion yuan compared to the same period last year.

Yuan strengthens against greenback

The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened 29 pips to 7.1366 against the US dollar on Tuesday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System. In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.