Title states all, Vietnam is a country that fought for it's independence, fought off multiple invaders including 2 industrialized western superpower nations, and now is one of the fastest growing economies in East Asia and is generally speaking seen as a positive nation on the global stage, without all of the baggage that China or North Korea carry. Obviously this is an abridged understanding of Vietnam but on paper it looks good, unless there's some brave posters willing to tell me otherwise?

-7DeadlyFetishes

  • skollontai [any]
    10·
    4 years ago

    Because people who think of state capitalist systems like Vietnam's positively are usually big fans of China, and the last 45 years or so of Vietnamese history conflict with their "China doesn't do imperialism" narrative. The Cambodia disaster and the Sino-Vietnamese War obviously, but also today, the current territorial disputes, the neoliberal trade deals imposed from the north, etc. If you're into the state capitalist version of "success", and you can only pick one, China has definitely achieved more of it than Vietnam (so many more billionaires!), so people pick them. That China fandom is very at odds with the Vietnamese public's view of things.

    Just like American and French nationalists, China stans would really prefer you didn't spend too much time thinking about Vietnam or Vietnamese history.

    • KiaKaha [he/him]
      ·
      4 years ago

      To riff off of this a bit, China’s come out of its privatise-everything phase with a strong party and public ownership intact, whereas VN’s still in its phase, and is going further than China did. For instance, Vietnam joined the TPPA, which heavily regulated state owned enterprises.

      In terms of anti-imperialism, Vietnam’s also getting uncomfortably close to the USA. It’s understandable given its proximity to China and the history there, but it’s also coming with significant economic shifts too.

      There’s also the question of the strength of the Party. While VN is making moves around data sovereignty, it is significantly more exposed to the USA than other ML nations.

      I need to research VN more generally, but your summary isn’t wrong.

      If you’re a fan of the China model, you probably prefer focusing on the more successful of the two, China.

      If you’re anti-imperialist, China’s the one having most of the lies spread about it, and that’s currently opposed to US hegemony.

      If you’re a fan of the underdog, why not just focus on Cuba or the DPRK instead?

      If you get off on obscurity, then stanning Laos makes more sense.

      From an interest point of view, Vietnam’s just outclassed in most areas, which is why it plays second fiddle. The only time it really shines is in handing America’s ass to it.