Outline of the paper on the new characteristics of international service trade development

First, the characteristics of the development of contemporary international service trade

International service trade refers to the foreign trade of service industry (tertiary industry), that is, the service business activities of providing and receiving international transportation, insurance, finance, tourism, science and technology with compensation. Since 1970s, international trade in services has developed rapidly, breaking through the traditional field of international commodity activities. With the signing and entry into force of the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), international trade in services has attracted more and more attention from all countries and become another hot spot in world economic and trade competition. According to the annual report of the World Trade Organization 1997 released in February 1997, the global service trade has developed rapidly, with a growth rate of 5% in 1996, and it is expected to increase to 7% in 1997, with a total amount of 2.7 trillion US dollars. Looking at the development of international service trade, the following trends are presented:

1. The proportion of service trade in international trade is increasing. The development of service trade is a sign of industrial progress. More than half a century after World War II, especially since the 1970s, due to the deepening of international division of labor, the constant adjustment of industrial structure, the intensification of scientific and technological revolution and the rise of multinational corporations, international trade in services has developed rapidly at a speed higher than that of trade in goods. 1970, the total world trade in services was only $7 10 billion, but 1980 soared to $383 billion, an increase of more than five times. After 1980, international service trade still maintained a rapid growth momentum, with an average annual growth rate of about 5%, which was two of the average annual growth rates of international goods trade of 2.5% in the same period. By 1993, the total world trade in services reached 1.03 trillion US dollars, accounting for more than a quarter of the total global trade. It is predicted that with the implementation of the Uruguay Round Agreement of GATT and the formal operation of the World Trade Organization, countries will further open their service markets and the service trade will further develop, accounting for one third of the total global trade by the end of this century.

2. The field of international service trade is expanding. At present, the scope of international service trade includes: (1) international transportation (sea, air and land transportation); (2) International tourism; (3) International financial services (including insurance); (4) International information processing and transmission software data service; (5) International consulting services (including accountants and lawyers); (6) Export of labor services such as construction and project contracting; (7) International telecommunication services; (8) project services such as advertising, design and accounting management; (9) International leasing services; (10) After-sales services such as commodity repair, maintenance and technical guidance; (1 1) international audio-visual services (12) international exchange services in education, health, culture and art; (13) Commercial wholesale and retail services; (14) intellectual property (industrial property and copyright) services; (15) international investment services; (16) Other official international services.

3. The development of international trade in services is uneven. First of all, industrialized countries have an absolute advantage in international service trade. Generally speaking, most industrialized countries are surplus countries in international service trade. According to statistics, the proportion of industrialized countries in the world service trade from 65438 to 0986 was 78.6%, of which transportation, net investment income and tourism income accounted for more than 75% of all projects. In the 1996 list of the top 20 global service trade exports, industrialized countries account for 15, and the United States ranks first with exports of $202.6 billion. Second, the development of the industry is uneven. With the rapid expansion of the global market of service trade, the differences between service industries are getting smaller and smaller, and the development speed of each industry is not the same. The traditional global transportation service industry is still growing, but the growth rate is slowing down, with an annual growth rate of only 2%; Tourism has increased by 6%, while the growth rates of financial services, telecommunications services and patents have all reached 7%. Third, emerging developing countries have a good momentum of development. Generally speaking, developing countries are at an obvious disadvantage in the field of service trade. Except for individual projects such as tourism and labor remittance (that is, projects mainly exporting labor services), almost all of them are service trade deficits. However, with the economic development of developing countries, especially the rapid rise of emerging developing countries, their international service trade has also developed rapidly. From 65438 to 0996, the export growth rate of service trade in Asian countries and Latin America reached 8%, which was higher than that in North America and Western Europe. Singapore, South Korea, China, Thailand, China, Hongkong and Taiwan Province Province have all entered the top 20 of global service trade exports.

4. More and more countries attach importance to international service trade. Since 1970s, due to the rapid development of international service trade, the competition in the international service trade market has become increasingly fierce. All countries have increased the development of international service trade and strengthened the research in the field of international service trade for their own interests. Especially since 1986, international service trade has become a new topic in Uruguay Round, and the development of international service trade and domestic service industry has become the focus of government, enterprises and academic circles. Governments in many developed countries allocate funds to support academic circles and think tanks to carry out special research in this field, and analyze the economic meaning, realistic development, strategies for competing for the world market and various possible policy actions of international service trade. On the one hand, developing countries are still cautious about opening up markets such as finance, insurance, transportation and commercial sales, on the other hand, they have begun to attach importance to this research, trying to truly know ourselves and ourselves in this new international economic and trade field, so as to take the initiative in the practice of entering and opening up the international service trade market.