The word 对外 (duìwài) is a prepositional phrase formed through the compounding of two characters: 对, meaning "toward", "facing", or "in relation to", and 外, meaning "outside" or "external". It functions as a single lexical unit that means "directed outward", "toward the outside", or specifically "foreign-related" or "external". Grammatically, it acts as an attributive modifier, where 对 introduces the target or direction, and 外 specifies that target as the external realm, collectively creating a concept used to describe policies, activities, or orientations involving entities outside one's own organization, region, or country.