VietNamNet Bridge – Some Vietnamese economists are worried about the increasing influence of Chinese on Vietnam in trade, technology, and investment. They argue that, if Vietnam blindly follows the Chinese way, it will fail.

“Located next to China, Vietnamese enterprises will not be able to compete with Chinese enterprises if they use the same technologies,” commented Truong Dinh Tuyen, a well-known economist, and former Minister of Trade.

Explaining this further, Tuyen said if Vietnamese enterprises employ the same technologies as Chinese, they will lose the competitive edge to the Chinese, who have advantage of larger production scales.

“Finland is located next to Russia, but it has been following its own development path, which is not similar to Russia’s, and has not been utilizing Russian technologies. And it has succeeded,” Tuyen said.

Citing the case of Vietnamese Rang Dong Light Sources and Vacuum Flask JSC, Tuyen emphasized that Rang Dong is succeeding because it utilizes non-Chinese technologies to make its products.

“When you imitate someone, you will not endure long enough to compete with him in the long race. And you will surely lag behind him,” he maintained. “However, it is obvious that many Vietnamese enterprises still use Chinese technologies.”

Indeed, many other economists have also repeatedly warned about the country’s heavy reliance on China.  

Pham Chi Lan, former Chair of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), has said at many business forums that she feels worried about the existence of too many Chinese workers in Vietnam, the application of Chinese technologies at thermo-power plants and the telecommunications market here, and about the presence of many Chinese foreign direct invested projects in Vietnam.

Moreover, some experts have found that Chinese technologies are not as cheap as some may think.

Though the prices offered by Chinese contractors are always the lowest when compared against contractors from other countries, Vietnam ends up paying steeply for maintenance and other additional expenses, generally because of the low quality of Chinese technology and equipment.

Most recently, local newspapers have reported on the increasing presence of Chinese in Vietnam’s telecommunications market. More Chinese smart phones and mobile devices have been penetrating the domestic market, while more Chinese telecommunications equipment is being used by Vietnamese telcos to develop their networks.

The military telecom group Viettel in October 2013 signed contracts with the Chinese OPPO and Haier Group on distributing their six smart phone models in Vietnam. Lenovo and Huawei have also been very familiar to Vietnamese for the last several years.

Meanwhile, many Vietnamese are in a high dudgeon over recent news stories about Chinese businessmen doing business illegally in Vietnamese territory and cheating Vietnamese farmers.

Therefore, the statement by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) recently that it is considering seeking the consultancy from Chinese economists in its plan to boost exports to the Chinese market, has faced the strong opposition from the public..

Local newspapers have been focusing lately on the story of Hoang Anh Gia Lai Group, a company which “does not develop with Chinese technologies”. It is being held up as an example to prove that an enterprise can succeed without following the “Chinese way”.

Hoang Anh Gia Lai is managed by Doan Nguyen Duc, one of the most influential businessmen in Vietnam.

Duc has recently poured most of his money into agricultural projects, including sugar cane, sugar refinery, rubber and maize, with technical assistance from Israel, and has made some impressive initial achievements.

Dat Viet