China May services trade deficit widens to $18.3 billion as Chinese tourists splurge

China's trade deficit in services widened to $18.3 billion in May, as Chinese tourists continued to spend more abroad than foreigners visiting the country, the foreign exchange regulator said on Tuesday.

Vehicles drive on the Guomao Bridge through Beijing's central business district, June 11, 2015.

The deficit was led by a $16.2 billion gap in spending between Chinese and foreign tourists, according to data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange(SAFE).

The country posted a $17.3 billion deficit on trade in services in April. Last year the services sector had a deficit of $10.2 billion in May.

For the first five months, China had a deficit of $76.7 billion in services trade and a surplus of $207.8 billion on trade in goods, producing a combined surplus on trade in goods and services of $131 billion, the data showed.

Beijing has promised to further open up China's services sector, which is dominated by Chinese companies, to foreign investment but the process has been gradual.

The government has been trying to boost the services sector to create more jobs at a time when factories are struggling, but analysts warn that clumsy attempts to force the transition could do more harm than good.