China's trade in services surged by 8.8 percent year-on-year to 3.4 trillion yuan ($518.7 billion) between January and September, said the Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday.

Trade of emerging sectors' services continued to sustain "a high growth rate", the ministry said.

In the first nine months, trade of emerging sectors' services totaled 1.04 trillion yuan, up 10.3 percent year-on-year. The export grew by 8.5 percent, 4.4 percentage points higher than the overall growth rate.

Specifically, the import and export of telecommunications, computer and information services amounted to 231.9 billion yuan, up 25.2 percent from the same period last year. Trade of culture and entertainment services increased 19.7 percent year-on-year, and that of maintenance services by 19.4 percent.

The government has been putting efforts to shift its economy toward a growth model driven by consumption, services and innovation. Last year, the added value of service sector more than halved the Chinese economy.