Commodity trading generally refers to block trading.

■ Trade terms:

The exchange rate of export commodities and import commodities. Also known as the comparison of import and export commodity prices, it is usually expressed by an index, that is, the comparison index of import and export commodity prices. The calculation formula is: terms of trade index = export price index/import price index × 100. For example, based on the previous year, the import and export commodity price indices are all 100. In the past year, the prices of import and export commodities have increased, but the increase rate is different. If the export price rises by 10% and the import price rises by 5%, the terms of trade index will increase. The term of trade index higher than the base period means that the price of export goods is higher than that of import goods, that is, the country can exchange less export goods for more import goods, which is beneficial to the country and improves the terms of foreign trade. On the contrary, if the price index of imported goods grows faster than that of exported goods, or even the price index of exported goods remains unchanged or decreases, the terms of trade index is lower than the base period, which means that a country has to export more goods in exchange for the same imported goods, which is obviously unfavorable to the country and is a deterioration of the terms of trade. This change is usually used as an indicator of unequal exchange between developed and developing countries.

■ International trade

The exchange of goods and services between countries. For the countries concerned, it is foreign trade. The sum of foreign trade of countries constitutes world trade. International trade is the basic form of modern international economic relations, because the monetary and credit relations and scientific and technological cooperation between countries are based on the commodity movement.

A brief history of international trade is formed on the basis of international division of labor and commodity exchange. In slave society, due to low productivity, inconvenient transportation, less commodity circulation and limited international trade, the commodities traded are mainly luxury goods of slaves and slave owners. In feudal society, with the development of social economy, international trade also developed. During this period, China conducted international trade activities with Eurasian countries through the Silk Road, and there were also trade exchanges between countries along the Mediterranean Sea, Baltic Sea, North Sea and Black Sea. The geographical discovery from the end of 15 to the beginning of 16 promoted the development of international trade. At that time, the commodities involved in trade were mainly general consumer goods and luxury goods of feudal owners. After the capitalist mode of production came into being, especially after the industrial revolution, due to the rapid improvement of productivity, the scale of commodity production continued to expand, and international trade developed rapidly, which began to be carried out worldwide. From17th century to19th century, the foreign trade volume of capitalist countries kept rising. Britain has long been in a monopoly position in international trade. At that time, the commodities involved in international trade were mainly general consumer goods, industrial raw materials and machinery and equipment. /kloc-after entering the imperialist period at the end of 0/9, a unified and all-inclusive world economic system and world market have been formed. Since then, the first world war and the impact of the 1929 ~ 1933 world economic crisis have greatly damaged the capitalist world economy, and the world trade volume has dropped sharply and stagnated. After World War II, international trade further expanded and developed, and the United States became the largest country in international trade. Since the 1950s, with the continuous improvement of the socialization and internationalization of production, especially the rapid development of productivity brought by the new scientific and technological revolution, international trade has become more active than ever, showing many new features. Manufactured products in trade have surpassed primary products to occupy a dominant position, new products are constantly emerging, and trade methods are increasingly flexible and diverse. Contemporary international trade is dominated by developed countries, and the United States is still the largest trading country in the world, but its status has declined; The foreign trade of Germany, Japan and other countries has developed greatly; The share of developing countries in international trade is very small, but compared with themselves, foreign trade has also developed greatly and become a force to be reckoned with in international trade. International trade plays an important role in contemporary international affairs and is also of great significance to the economic development of all countries.

International trade theory is a theory to study the law of international commodity circulation. It should clarify a series of basic questions, such as why commodity exchange occurs between countries; What determines the nature and characteristics of international trade in various historical periods, and so on. Generalized international trade theory should also include international value theory and balance of payments theory.

The practice of international trade refers to the completion of a series of commercial activities through an import or export transaction. Generally speaking, it can be divided into three stages: ① preparation before trading. ② Transaction negotiation and contract signing. ③ Performance of the contract.

Foreign trade statistics vary from country to country. Some countries divide imports and exports by borders, and all goods entering the borders are counted as imports, which is called total imports; All goods shipped out of the country are exported, which is called total export, including re-export, that is, imported goods are re-exported without processing. The total import plus the total export is the total trade of a country. Britain, Canada, Australia and other countries use this method to count foreign trade. In some countries, imports and exports are divided according to customs clearance. Although the goods that have entered the country but have not been cleared through customs are not considered as imports, only the goods that have been cleared through customs are considered as imports, which is called special imports. Exports include domestic products shipped out of the customs territory and goods shipped out of the customs territory without processing after import, which is called special export. Special import plus special export is special trade volume. Germany, France, Italy and other countries use this method to count foreign trade. The above two methods do not include transit goods in foreign trade. The import and export of countries are usually unequal, and the difference between import and export in a certain period is called trade balance. Export is greater than import surplus, trade surplus or trade surplus, and export is less than import surplus, trade deficit or trade deficit; Equal import and export is called trade balance.

The scale of international trade is expressed by the volume of world trade. In order to avoid double counting, only the exports or imports of countries are counted, and the world trade volume is based on the world exports or imports. Since the trade volume of countries is the total import and export volume, the world trade volume is not equal to the sum of the trade volume of countries. Since countries generally calculate exports on the basis of FOB and imports on the basis of CIF, the world import volume is always greater than the world export volume. World trade volume is usually calculated in dollars. The actual trade volume is affected by price changes, which often cannot correctly reflect the changes of actual trade volume. Therefore, the world trade volume should be calculated at constant prices in a certain period of time to measure the changes in international trade volume.

There are many ways of international trade: ① According to the mode of cargo transportation, it can be divided into land trade, maritime trade, air trade and mail order trade. Most goods in international trade are transported by sea. ② According to whether there is a third party involved in the trade process, it can be divided into direct trade and indirect trade. The former is the direct trade between commodity producers and consumers; In the latter case, there is a third country intermediary between commodity producing countries and consumer countries, and there are many specific forms. One is that although the goods are directly transported from the producing country to the consuming country, there is no direct buying and selling relationship between the two parties, but trade through a third-country middleman; The other is that the producer countries first transport the products to the third country, and then the middlemen sell the products to the consumer countries. In addition, a country's foreign trade run by foreign trade manufacturers is also indirect trade. ③ According to the number of countries participating in the transaction process, it can be divided into bilateral trade and multilateral trade. Bilateral trade is a direct transaction between producers and consumers. However, a country's products often cannot fully meet each other's needs, which will lead to trade balance, trade imbalance and payment difficulties, which requires the intervention of other countries. Multilateral trade is a large-scale transaction between many countries, which is convenient for all trading countries to get what they need and achieve trade balance. ④ According to payment methods, it can be divided into cash trade and barter trade. Cash trade refers to the direct payment of import payment in currency, and the main means of payment in modern international trade are freely convertible currencies such as US dollar, German mark and Japanese yen. Barter trade means that both parties settle their debts with goods, which can make up for the shortage of foreign exchange and promote the export of domestic products. Because it is difficult to exchange goods directly, a more flexible form of generalized barter trade is often adopted, that is, it is stipulated to exchange several kinds of goods within a certain period, settle accounts separately and balance comprehensively. ⑤ According to the relationship between import and export in the transaction, it can be divided into unilateral import, unilateral export and reciprocal trade. The first two means that a country's exports to other countries have nothing to do with its imports from that country, but they are carried out independently, while the latter means that the import and export transactions between the two countries should be equal. Modern international trade mostly adopts the first two forms.

■ Invisible trade

Income and expenditure that do not belong to the import and export of commodities. Also known as intangible transaction, intangible import and export. Including: labor revenue and expenditure items that occur with the international movement of goods and people, such as freight, insurance, passenger transport, tourism, etc.; Investment income items generated by international capital flows, such as profits, interest, dividends, rents, etc. ; And other income and expenditure items such as funds from overseas institutions, remittances and patent fees. Expenditures belonging to these projects constitute intangible imports; The income belonging to these projects constitutes intangible exports. Visible trade (trade balance) and intangible trade (non-trade balance) constitute the main part of the current account in the balance of payments.

Interviewee: tenten 6666-5 manager.