The 2026 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), held at Beijing’s Shougang Park from Sept. 9 to 13, was the first edition during China’s 15th Five-Year Plan period from 2026 to 2030. Under the theme "Global Services, Shared Prosperity," the fair featured more than 100 new products and services in areas including information and communications, fintech, and digital and intelligent healthcare, alongside forums and business matchmaking activities. The event attracted 473 Fortune Global 500 companies or industry leaders, more than last year, and highlighted services trade as a channel for investment, innovation and international cooperation. China’s services trade rose 8.3 percent year on year during the first seven months of 2026 to nearly 4.45 trillion yuan, or about $656.9 billion, while annual services imports have recently stood at about 4.4 trillion yuan. Norway, the guest country of honor, brought companies in health, nutrition, design and lifestyle to its pavilion. Ragnhild Sjoner Syrstad, Norway’s state secretary for industry and commerce, said the delegation’s scale and diversity reflected the importance Norway places on CIFTIS and its business relationship with China. Bulgaria’s deputy prime minister and minister of economy, investment and industry, Alexander Poulev, said the fair could turn longstanding bilateral ties into investment, trade and long-term cooperation. Companies also presented concrete commercial initiatives: Lilly is planning to invest $3 billion in China over the coming decade, while ABB highlighted a Shenzhen renovation project that cut energy consumption by 75 percent and carbon emissions by 142 tonnes annually. Officials and business leaders said digital technology, knowledge-intensive services, healthcare, manufacturing and urban renewal will shape further cooperation, with speakers including Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye, World Trade Organization deputy director-general Johanna Hill and Standard Chartered’s Benjamin Hung emphasizing openness, shared development and more integrated global services trade.