Trade is the only way a country can develop. To what extent do you agree with this statement?

Trade involves the transfer of the ownership of goods or services from one person or entity to another in exchange for other goods or services or for money. Trade is seen by many as a way to promote economic and development, with the future aim of increasing the Human Development Index (HDI- composite statistic of life expectancy, education, and income, indices used to rank countries into four tiers of human development) and thus moving further along the development continuum. With expert leg-growth has been the main approach to development, trade may not be the only panacea for development. Other approaches to development such as aid and political avenues also have to be explored. However, the main process to development is industrialisation (manufactured goods create more income than raw materials/primary products) with this we see countries moving through the Clark Fisher model; moving from primary through to tertiary sectors. This increased revenue would promote wealth and improving living standards. In turn, this would make way for the 'trickling down' effect, the increased wealth means surplus money would be available for new industry to be established. Furthermore, this surplus of money may be reinvested into vital infrastructure and increasing the indices needed to value the HDI. Exploring and analysing approaches to development will form the basis of my conclusion.

Over the last three decades China has experienced a remarkable transformation, going from being a poor and largely agricultural economy to becoming the world’s industrial powerhouse. Much of China’s remarkable growth between 1978 and 2000 can be explained by the reform. China’s rise as a major global economy was boosted by its WTO membership in 2001 opened its economy through export led growth. By