BEIJING - China's foreign service trade deficit narrowed in February and goods trade posted a rare deficit, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said Monday.

The service trade deficit stood at $17.6 billion, down from $20.9 billion in January, SAFE data showed.

Income from trade in services was $20.4 billion, while expenditure totaled $38 billion.

Trade in services refers to the sale and delivery of intangible products such as transport, tourism, telecommunications, construction, advertising, computing and accounting.

China regularly holds a deficit in service trade as its service sector is less competitive than a number of other economies.

In February, China ran a deficit of $4.8 billion in goods trade, as imports grew faster than exports, compared with a surplus of more than $50 billion in January.