1st LD: China’s service production expands 5.7 pct in July

    BEIJING, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) — China’s service production index went up 5.7 percent year on year in July, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Tuesday.

   Contact-based service sector witnessed fast recovery, with the sub-index for accommodation and catering surging by 20 percent year on year.

   The sub-index tracking the output of the information transmission, software and IT services climbed 11.2 percent, while that for financial services expanded 7.6 percent, according to the NBS.

   In the first seven months, the index increased by 8.3 percent year on year.