It is easy to exaggerate the degree to which China's economy is dependent upon external trade.
It oversees, among other things, external trade policy, the policing of internal free trade, competition policy and much environmental policy.
This suggests that most of the trade in foreign exchange is directed to settle external trade balances, rather than for speculative reasons.
But if the numbers are right, Russia is heading towards a twin deficit economy, where the government budget and external trade balance are negative.
Last year the group faced a slowdown in external trade and rising costs that have checked gains for port operators in China and Hong Kong.
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And you thought that Europe's external trade policies were unenlightened.
Next week the European Court is expected to issue a preliminary judgment stripping European Union member governments of the right to negotiate bilateral air-service agreements and handing the power instead to the European Commission, which handles other external trade issues.
As the UK's Europe Minister, David Lidington, said: "If you look at the summit conclusions, you'll find very ambitious language there about strengthening the single market, cutting the amount of red tape and regulation on small businesses, on expanding external trade".
Deregulation would help, by making it easier to sell services (such as residential care) to the elderly, by freeing up finance to allow them to make better use of their savings, and by encouraging more competition in the domestic economy so that it can withstand the inevitable shocks to external trade.
The best hope now is that the European Union, the world's biggest trading block, seizes the baton of free trade from America something Sir Leon Brittan, the external-trade commissioner, boasts it has done already, for instance in last year's financial-services and telecoms trade deals.
However, most global trade, Asia's external debt, foreign-exchange liquidity and financial assets are still denominated in dollars.
He also noted that a smattering of companies would be showcasing USB 3.0 gear at upcoming trade shows, with a Buffalo external hard drive, an ExpressCard-to-USB 3.0 adapter and even a full-on laptop with a functioning USB 3.0 port making a stop at IDF later this week.
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"The trade data (shows) that external demand still remains weak, which is widely-known to the market, so I think investors will pay more attention to indicators that reflect companies' business operations, profitability and revenue growth, such as industrial production and power consumption, before they make up their mind, " said Dongxing Securities analyst Sun Zheng.
While improvement in capital flows has certainly been a supportive factor since September 2012, the deterioration in the trade balance is likely to weigh on the external balance nonetheless.
To go back to my original post, Russia would be wise to concede that it has lost near-total influence in the Middle East, that the United States is the sole dominant external power in that region, and that it could trade away the few remaining chips it has in order to shore up its position in its own backyard.
"If Latin America were able to take advantage of free trade for its produce, the region's external debt would disappear, " he said.
EU, which means that all members should apply common external tariffs on imports from third countries and adopt a common foreign-trade policy.
This is possible now because of the strong new international pressure against external support to rebel groups, the removal of Ntaganda, the lowered profitability of the trade in conflict minerals and the International Monetary Fund's pressure on Congo to enact governance reforms.
Instead of sounding as an external threat to the local markets global firms must adapt to the local markets and make the trade with them a win-win.
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