From 2000 to 2005, the import value of royalty and license fee services rose from US$1.28 billion to US$5.32 billion, an average annual growth of 33 per cent.

The import value accounted for 6.4 per cent of China's total service imports last year, up from the 3.6 per cent in 2000.

With the rapid growth in imports, trade deficit in royalties and licence fees services reached US$5.16 billion, the third-largest sector in terms of service trade deficits.

Exports grew at an average 14.4 per cent during the 2000-2005 period, reaching US$160 million last year. The value was only 0.2 per cent of the country's total service exports. China's trade deficit in the sector is likely to continue for awhile, due to developed countries' advantages in the intellectual property sector.

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