International trade refers to the transfer of products from one country to another. International trade increases the level of world economy, and is concerned with the affect of international activities on the demand and supply worldwide. It provides opportunities for the customers as well as for the countries, to explore those products in other countries that are not available in their own country. International market is a hub where every type of products and services, such as clothes, eateries, parts of the automobiles and other electronic devices, jewelry, oil products, wines and other stocks, are available. International trade also involves services such as banking, shipping, consulting and tourism. The service or product that involves selling by some country in the international trade is called an export and the one which involves buying by some country from the international market is called an import.



International trade allows well-heeled countries, like China, to use all their resources including currency, labor and technology, to the fullest. Every country possesses a different set of resources from the other countries. Similar is the case with China. China has low cost labor and very advanced technology, which enables it to produce those products very efficiently that are not available in other countries at low cost. Other countries can get those items by trading with China. This process is known as the specialization of that particular company in the international trade.

International trade increases the efficiency of the country and also allows it to participate actively in the growth of economy at the global level. This helps in increasing the economy very efficiently, thus providing China a competitive edge against other participants in the global economy.

International trade involves two different concepts regarding the control level on trade:

-Free Trade

It is a liberal approach as it imposes no limitations on the trade. The main scheme is to focus on the demand and supply factors that execute on the international level, to ensure that production process is efficiently carried out.

-Protectionism

It states that guidelines for doing international trade are very necessary for the proper function of the market. If the market is not working efficiently, it will definitely obstruct the growth of international trade. Protectionism is forced in the form of tariffs and quotas.