BEIJING, Feb. 12 -- China's foreign trade in services in 2013 hit a new high of 540 billion U.S. dollars, up 14.7 percent from the previous year, data with the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) showed Wednesday.

Exports of services reached 211 billion U.S. dollars, up 10.6 percent from a year earlier. Imports of services hit 329 billion U.S. dollars, up 17.5 percent, according to a statement on the ministry website.

High value-added service exports saw steady growth, with exports of financial services soaring 54.2 percent year on year. Traditional service exports, which used to account for a large part of total exports, declined compared to the previous year.

The data showed that imports of high value-added services sped up, with tourism imports surging 26.1 percent year on year to 128.58 billion U.S. dollars.

Deficits came from sectors including tourism, transport, royalties and insurance, while a significant surplus was realized in other sectors such as consulting, IT and construction.

MOC data showed that trade in services rose 12.3 percent year on year to 471 billion U.S. dollars in 2012, becoming the world's third-largest trader of services.