GENEVA, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- "Servicification" is set to increasingly contribute to the growth of the global and national economies, an economist with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) told Xinhua in a recent interview.

"Servicification" is a key dimension of industrialization, said Bruno Antunes, an economist at UNCTAD's Division on International Trade and Commodities, adding that it will help countries in their development strategies to reach a more balanced growth pattern.

Services represent the fastest-growing sector of the global economy and account for two-thirds of global output, one-third of global employment and a quarter of international trade, Antunes noted.

The economist highlighted a key structural difference between the developed and developing economies: while most developing economies rely more on traditional services such as travel and transport, developed economies focus more on knowledge-intensive services.

"It means the types of input that the services provide in developing economies are different from the ones that are provided in developing economies," Antunes said."And that means a strong difference from the role that services can play in development."

He made the remarks when commenting on the 2020 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS), which runs from Sept. 4 to Sept. 9 in Beijing.

It is one of the world's largest comprehensive fairs for trade in services and has hosted both online and offline events due to the global pandemic situation.

Under the theme of "Global Services, Shared Prosperity," the CIFTIS 2020 has held a total of 190 forums with over 17,000 companies attending. During the fair, a number of reports and new technology applications were also released.

Antunes said the trade fair was an opportunity to discuss the effects of COVID-19 on services and especially the tourism sector: "The young people, the ones working part-time, the informal workers, even women can suffer the strongest impact as they represent the majority of tourism workers."

Meanwhile, he stressed that tourism, especially travel agencies, can significantly benefit from the digitalization in services.

Speaking of what policies a country should pursue for trade in services, Antunes said this will vary depending on the local economy.

"Answers must be specific for each country and each sector... Some are connected more to the local economy so they can use the protection of the blue economy, the green economy, the creative economy, to build a value proposition on services that can, in fact, be a different business model for the future," he said.

Asked about the message that China sends out through CIFTIS 2020 to the world amid the current pandemic, Antunes said: "Cooperation is a key dimension of the way forward."

"If all major players are willing to assist, provide assistance, as we are doing as an international organization, that will be an important part all the way forward."