Vietnam, the country called the Smaller Dragon, has fast emerged as a globalisation winner - a success recognised by its selection this year as host of the World Economic Forum East Asia Summit, a local media reported on July 10.
The “Real Clear World” website in its article entitled “Smaller Dragon makes global strides” said that in economic terms Vietnam is a rapidly rising power. Since the beginning of this century, it's held third place in average annual GDP growth, just behind China and India and been most successful in poverty reduction.
Vietnam has become a major exporter, ranking 40th in the world. Ironically the country it most exports to, at almost 20 percent, is the US, the article said. It added that the US is also a prominent presence in inward investment, along with others, including the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Switzerland, Australia and the EU. In 2007, following more than a decade of intense negotiations, Vietnam joined the World Trade Organisation.
One major indicator of Vietnam's success is the degree of active engagement of its overseas Vietnamese (OVs) in the development of the country. Many of the OVs or their progeny return, bringing valuable capital, know-how and networks.
The article praised the amazing speed of change in the country, stressing that in the last decade Vietnam has become an entrepreneurial, open and dynamic society. In pursuing policies of reform, liberalisation and further integration with the world economy, the Vietnamese government aims to achieve the status of industrialised nation by 2020. The Vietnamese people have a renewed sense of achievement in the present, pride in the past - this year Vietnam celebrates the 1000th anniversary of the establishment of the city of Hanoi - and confidence in the future.
However, the article warned that there are many risks inherent in the Asian regimes, including Vietnam's. Problems of infrastructure, governance, corruption, weak institutions, rising inequality - though not as bad in Vietnam as in some other East Asian countries - could jeopardize future prospects.