1. How important is trade to your country?
2. What is its international trade-to-GDP ratio?
3. What products does your country export and import?
4. With whom does your country trade?
5. Is there a concerted effort from the government to promote exports to stimulate the economy? If so, are there any trading policies for American investors?
6. Does your country have a city that is an important financial center? Does it have its own stock market(s)? How did the stock market(s) perform last year?
7. What is the exchange rate of your country’s currency compared to the USD? What was it
a year ago? Is the currency gaining or losing value relative to the USD?
8. Are there any restrictions on the exchange of the nation’s currency?
China: Trade and Monetary Environment
Trade has become an increasingly important part of China`s overall economy, and it has been a significant tool used for economic modernization. Trade is the sum of exports and imports of goods and services measured as a share of gross domestic product. China trade to GDP ratio for 2020 was 34.51%, a 1.33% decline from 2019. Among the country`s major import products are machines and electronics such as integrated circuits, mineral products (crude oil, iron ore, etc.), vehicles, metallurgical products, chemicals, rubber, plastic in primary forms, and textile. The great bulk of China`s exports consists of manufactured goods, of which electrical and electronic machinery and equipment and clothing textiles, and footwear are by far the most important. The main import sources are Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Australia, the countries of the European Union (EU), and the United States.
According to Hussey and Hussey (1997) research process starts with an identification of a certain research problem. As researchers investigate the area in which the problem is embedded in more detail they are able to define a comprehensive research problem/research question which they intend to solve. Next, the way in which the research will be conducted is determined. Following, researchers collect, analyze and interpret the data and compose their results in form of a report, dissertation or thesis. Graig and Douglas (2005) define the international marketing research as research that crosses national borders and involves respondents and researchers from different countries and cultures. As it was noticed above, Furniture designing industry is my preferred field where. The research on the topic How Furniture Designers can set up their own business?” becomes very ‘hot issue’. Data concerning the Furniture designers and the markets in which they operate come from a wide range of sources. Research for this report includes interviews with reputed furniture designers and General Director of Hunts office furniture and also some information was obtained from Furniture-related organizations, government reports of United Kingdom and furniture designing analysts via email. Further, research objectives and questions were discussed with the supervisor and after that the process of main work was begun. Types of Research Hussey and Hussey (1997) define four different types of research: exploratory, descriptive, analytical or predictive. Exploratory research is used when the problem is badly understood and leads to an unstructured problem design. This kind of research helps to increase the familiarity with the researched area. During exploratory research, new findings and information are discovered, so the researcher must be flexible and prepared for possible changes in the research direction. The key requirements for this type of research are ability to observe, find information and be able to explain the findings. Descriptive research is used when the problem is well structured and understood; the task to solve is clear. The researchers should focus on the structure of the research, precise rules and procedures, since the ability to make good measurements is crucial for this type of research. However, they provide two additional research types. Analytical research can be seen as a continuation of descriptive research as it attempts to explain why a particular situation exists. It tries to identify causal relationships, i.e. ‘A’ causes ‘B’. Predictive research continues from analytical as it attempts to predict future outcomes from a particular situation. This type of research attempts to generalize, and these generaliz