Chinese shares opened lower on Wednesday as the expansion of the country's service sector eased.
The Shanghai Composite Index, the main gauge of Chinese stocks, opened 0.2% lower to 3,815.12. The Shenzhen Component Index fell 1.7% to 13,644.84.
Investor sentiment was brought down by the sluggish pace of private services activity expansion in July. The RatingDog China General Services Business Activity Index came in at 50.4, missing the 53.7 consensus forecast and down from June's 54.1, signaling barely positive growth in the sector.
Separately, Washington is drafting a ban on new Chinese optical transceivers for U.S. data centers, with the Federal Communications Commission-led measure citing espionage and sabotage risks as the artificial intelligence race intensifies.