Also known as labor trade, it refers to the economic exchange activities between countries that provide services to each other. Service trade has a broad and narrow sense. Narrow service trade refers to an activity in which a country provides a form of direct service to meet the needs of another country to obtain compensation. The broad service trade includes both tangible activities and intangible activities by service providers and users without direct contact. Service trade generally refers to the broad sense.
    According to the General Agreement on Trade in Services reached by the Uruguay Round of the GATT, trade in services means: “providing services from one member to the territory of any other member; providing services to the service consumers of any other member within the territory of one member; A member's service provider provides services in the presence of a commercial presence in any other member's territory; a member's service provider provides services in the presence of a natural person in the territory of any other member." The service department includes the following: commercial services, communication services, construction and related Engineering services, sales services, education services, environmental services, financial services, health and social services, tourism-related services, entertainment, cultural and sports services, transportation services.
    At present, the development of international service trade has four characteristics: international service trade is developing rapidly; developed countries are dominant; international service trade is expanding; and international service trade liberalization is accelerating.