China will expedite foreign exchange (forex) transactions in the services trade by cutting more red tape, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) announced on July 24.

Under the new rules, which will be effective from September 1, a forex payment or settlement transaction in the services trade that is equivalent to $50,000 or less can proceed without having its transaction documents verified, the SAFE said in an online statement.

The simplified procedure is expected to benefit about 88 percent of China's services-trade-related forex transactions, according to the SAFE.

Other measures include allowing services trade forex transactions to be handled directly at financial institutions and to permit companies in the services trade to deposit their foreign currency earnings overseas.