Vietnam overtakes China as largest exporter to U.S. (in furniture)

[aziqbal]

I don't understand why south Asian countries are always lagging behind . Countries like Pakistan and Bengladesh have a far larger population and market than Vietnam. Yet you guys barely attract any foreign investment or of you do it comes nowhere close to that of Vietnam. Vietnam went through a terrible war and destruction where the entire country was destroyed and went true turmoil during the vietnam war for independence against France then an even more destructive war against the US, then a brutal invasion by China which led to more destruction and subsequently they were isolated , sanctioned and considered a pariah by much of the world where they could not trade with basically anybody(not even their neighbours like China, Thailand or ASEAN). Yet it wasn't until the late 90s that the world (US,China, Europe,Japan) opened up to them and ease sanctions to let them trade and live like a normal country. Despite all this Vietnam is now growing way faster than you guys and they have long overtaken you guys in almost every economic/development field one can think of.
You guys in South Asia really need to learn from South east asian and East Asian countries.

Japan was the first and countries like Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong (when under British control) were the Asian tigers from 1960s onwards

Then came the South Asian countries like Malaysia strong in the 1990s and rest like Thailand and Vietnam etc in 2000s

now this decade Pakistan will be leading this area in so many way and already is growing at a very fast pace

everyone industrialises in their own time and pace

Europe took 200 years while killing 100 million of each in in 2 World Wars and stealing half of the Worlds resources while enslaving 40 million black Africans and almost got into a 3rd World War against USSR if it wasn't for Pakistan defeating the Soviets in Afghanistan

 

[KurtisBrian]

I thought China is an net furniture importer, IKEA has its stores everywhere in China, logging was largely banned in China.

hard to make wood furniture without forests. Forests are in two great belts that ring the world. As above so below. The US East coast and Buddhists of SE Asia have some forests too.

haha now the Americans will be sitting on Vietnamese everyday. What happened to American health and weight after their association with the Vietnam War (60's-70's)? Obesity problems started in the 70's and skyrocketed through the 80's.

 

[mike2000 is back]

now this decade Pakistan will be leading this area in so many way and already is growing at a very fast pace

I haven't seen anything to believe Pakistan is in the direction of being another Asian tiger this coming decades. No major company is flocking to Pakistan or even thinking of it, unlike Vietnam where most major company are thinking of relocating there as an alternative to China(that's when they do think of moving out of China). In fact the few large investors and companies investing hugely in Pakistan from what I have red are mostly Chinese companies( i don't understand why they even take such risks, guess it's more political/strategic not economical per se). No real company is ready to risk their huge investments in Pakistan due to political/social and security situation as well i guess. Moreover policies there are rather complex and not conducive for foreign investments. Reason you guys are so behind in ease of doing business as well(although I heard there was some sort of improvement in ranks this year but still falls short).

 

[mike2000 is back]

Europe took 200 years while killing 100 million of each in in 2 World Wars and stealing half of the Worlds resources while enslaving 40 million black Africans

Lol So how do you think we would have conquered much of the world if we didn't industrialized and developed ourselves/build up our national power to be able to overpower others? So why are talking as if we industrializing/developing ourselves while dominating others was a bad think back then?
You have to know that during that period of History it was jungle law. If you had the power and capabilities you could use it to accumulate your wealth and conquer others. That's was the rule back then. Just because we had more capabilities and power then doesn't make it wrong for us. Every power did that, from the Romans, to the Mongols, to the ottomans, to the British empire to the Germans, Japanese, Soviets/Russians, US etc etc. Back then if you didn't understand the importance of striving for industrialisation and development and thereby being weak then there was no one to blame by yourself.

almost got into a 3rd World War against USSR if it wasn't for Pakistan defeating the Soviets in Afghanistan

Lool Are you joking/being sarcastic or you are serious? Pakistan defeating the Soviet Union? . Dude stop with this joke. If it wasn't for western powers(and China) full support believe me the Soviet union would have not only invaded and conquered Afghanistan but also Pakistan.

 

[UKBengali]

I haven't seen anything to believe Pakistan is in the direction of being another Asian tiger this coming decades.no major companies is flicking to Pakistan or even thinking of it, unlike Vietnam where most major company are thinking of relocating there as an alternative to China(that's when they do think of moving out of China). In fact the few large investors and companies investing hugely in Vietnam from what I have red are mostly Chinese companies( i don't understand why they even take such risks, guess it's more political/strategic not economical per se). No real company is ready to risk their huge investments in Pakistan due to political/social and security situation as well i guess. Moreover policies there are rather complex and not conducive for foreign investments. Reason you guys are so behind in ease of doing business as well(although I heard there was some sort of improvement in ranks this year but still falls short).

Yes, unfortunately the poster is being slightly blinded by nationalism and hope more than anything concrete.

Report for Selected Countries and Subjects

www.imf.org

BD has a better chance of being the next Asian "Tiger Economy" than Pakistan.

Yes BD is currently mainly known for exports of clothes like T-shirts and underwear.

However over recent years it has started exports of other products like electronics, pharmaceuticals and shipbuilding. They have been growing at low double-digit levels whereas garments have been less than 10% and so if this is sustained over this decade then garments export ratio should come down substantially from its current 80%.

Still no guarantee as of yet that BD will even reach "middle-income" status but most medium term forecasts up to 2035 predict that BD will grow 7%+ a year on average till then. That should just about see it no longer be classified as a 3rd world country.

One thing I would say is that you do not necessarily need to get loads of multinationals to flock to your country to develop as you can also do it by your own domestic companies. That is the route that BD seems to be taking, although foreign brands like Samsung and LG are present in BD to make electronics.


As for Pakistan, it needs to spend some time getting its fundamentals right - education, infrastructure and follow a long-term sound economic plan in order to turn its economy to sustained 7%+ growth. CPEC by itself is not enough to turn its economy around.

 

[denel]

I don't understand why south Asian countries are always lagging behind . Countries like Pakistan and Bengladesh have a far larger population and market than Vietnam. Yet you guys barely attract any foreign investment or of you do it comes nowhere close to that of Vietnam. Vietnam went through a terrible war and destruction where the entire country was destroyed and went true turmoil during the vietnam war for independence against France then an even more destructive war against the US, then a brutal invasion by China which led to more destruction and subsequently they were isolated , sanctioned and considered a pariah by much of the world where they could not trade with basically anybody(not even their neighbours like China, Thailand or ASEAN). Yet it wasn't until the late 90s that the world (US,China, Europe,Japan) opened up to them and ease sanctions to let them trade and live like a normal country. Despite all this Vietnam is now growing way faster than you guys and they have long overtaken you guys in almost every economic/development field one can think of.
You guys in South Asia really need to learn from South east asian and East Asian countries.

100% on the mark.

Vietnam especially given its tragic history has done phenomenally well

Lol So how do you think we would have conquered much of the world if we didn't industrialized and developed ourselves/build up our national power to be able to overpower others? So why are talking as if we industrializing/developing ourselves while dominating others was a bad think back then?
You have to know that during that period of History it was jungle law. If you had the power and capabilities you could use it to accumulate your wealth and conquer others. That's was the rule back then. Just because we had more capabilities and power then doesn't make it wrong for us. Every power did that, from the Romans, to the Mongols, to the ottomans, to the British empire to the Germans, Japanese, Soviets/Russians, US etc etc. Back then if you didn't understand the importance of striving for industrialisation and development and thereby being weak then there was no one to blame by yourself.

Lool Are you joking/being sarcastic or you are serious? Pakistan defeating the Soviet Union? . Dude stop with this joke. If it wasn't for western powers(and China) full support believe me the Soviet union would have not only invaded and conquered Afghanistan but also Pakistan.

no my bro mike.

I strongly disagree with your statement.

Afghanistan could not and will never be conquered. You forget Alexander, 3x British invasion, Soviet, then US. When it chewed every known superpower of the times - the statement Aziqbal makes is valid.

 

[UKBengali]

100% on the mark.

Vietnam especially given its tragic history has done phenomenally well

no my bro mike.

I strongly disagree with your statement.

Afghanistan could not and will never be conquered. You forget Alexander, 3x British invasion, Soviet, then US. When it chewed every known superpower of the times - the statement Aziqbal makes is valid.

I think there is a cultural thing between E Asian countries and S Asian countries.

S Asians are just not as disciplined as East Asians and "democracy" has not been helpful to them at all.

See my previous post and you will see that BD is making progress, although not as fast as Vietnam has done.

 

[denel]

I think there is a cultural thing between E Asian countries and S Asian countries.

S Asians are just not as disciplined as East Asians and "democracy" has not been helpful to them at all.

See my previous post and you will see that BD is making progress, although not as fast as Vietnam has done.

Yes, BD has done excellent but turning textiles into a huge value stream given there is no cotton at all available. I commend you on population control efforts as well; basic health care and education.

 

[mike2000 is back]

100% on the mark.

Vietnam especially given its tragic history has done phenomenally well

no my bro mike.

I strongly disagree with your statement.

Afghanistan could not and will never be conquered. You forget Alexander, 3x British invasion, Soviet, then US. When it chewed every known superpower of the times - the statement Aziqbal makes is valid.

Nope it depends on what you mean by that. The soviets already had control of Afghanistan through their their proxy government in place. The best the Talibans/Mujahedeen could do was isolated guerrilla attacks. Just like they are doing today with afghan backed US government. So they could only carry out guerrilla attacks or hit and run. That's the most they could do and even to do that they need a sanctuary/bastion where they can procure ammunition from ,which in this case was Pakistan (which received huge amount of western arms and ammunitions). All the Talibans stinger which decimated Soviets aircrafts where supplied to them by western powers through Pakistan. Where else would they have acquired such weapons?
So the soviets did invade Afghanistan and installed a proxy government but due to western powers support for the Mujahedeen and supply for sophisticated weapons to them and sanctuary through Pakistan, it made it difficult for them to totally decimate them and control the country fully. In fact it was due to this that the soviets even threatened to invade Pakistan and eliminate this refuge area for the Mujahedeen, but they where warner by western powers especially the US from such a move .

It's same situation the US faced in Vietnam, had it not been for China(and soviets to some extent) providing full support,arms, training, refuge for the Vietcongs and warning US of not invading north Vietnam or threatening to intervene in case the US invaded the north close to their border then US would have a much easier time in Vietnam and they definitely wouldn't have left the country so prematurely. Note that the US never lost any battle during the entire vietnam war. The Vietcongs could only launch guerrilla attacks against US forces and seek refuge in the north. So it made it an unwinnable war for US forces and it's south vietnamese counter parts.

The thing is without a proper industrial base/manufacturing power, no country can keep at bay an industrialized powerful counterpart. The only way they can manage is by using guerrilla attacks ,hit and runs, and unconventional attacks. That's the only way they can survive. However the industrialized ones will still be controlling much of the country and state. It's similar situation for the many rebel/guerilla groups in India who have been fighting Indian government for decades . They can only limit themselves to hit and runs/guerrilla warfare and that's it.

 

[mike2000 is back]

I think there is a cultural thing between E Asian countries and S Asian countries.

S Asians are just not as disciplined as East Asians and "democracy" has not been helpful to them at all.

See my previous post and you will see that BD is making progress, although not as fast as Vietnam has done.

Then that culture needs to be changed. Guess you guys need some sort of revolution then. From what I have noticed , it seems you guys are more interested in arguing over religion and other unimportant stuffs like non productive competition about who is better. Countries as poor as south Asian countries should be focused on porverty alleviation and that should be their number 1 focus and that should be what all their policies and campaigns should be about.
Funny enough i have heard more about porverty alleviation and focus by the government in China than say the few south Asian countries i have been to like India, Sri Lanka, or Bengladesh. However, i found Sri lanka to be quite enjoyable, better organized, and even clean(but that again is compared to the other countries)

 

[UKBengali]

Then that culture needs to be changed. Guess you guys need some sort of revolution then. From what I have noticed , it seems you guys are more interested in arguing over religion and other unimportant stuffs like non productive competition about who is better. Countries as poor as south Asian countries should be focused on porverty alleviation and that should be their number 1 focus and that should be what all their policies and campaigns should be about.
Funny enough i have heard more about porverty alleviation and focus by the government in China than say the few south Asian countries i have been to like India, Sri Lanka, or Bengladesh. However, i found Sri lanka to be quite enjoyable, better organized, and even clean(but that again is compared to the other countries)

Trying to be as fair and unbiased as possible, BD is not as bad as either Pakistan or India in this aspect.

Right now a Hindu Nationalist Party rules in India, the BJP.
Pakistan is a state founded on religion.

BD is the most secular out of them and no religious party gets anything like 10% of the vote in national elections at all.

It at least has tried with various levels of success to focus on reducing poverty as its No. 1 goal for the last 2-3 decades.

Here is a fun fact - BD nominal per capita income is the same as India now from half that in 2007. Rubbish but less rubbish than it was in the 2000s.

Yes BD is not a Vietnam but it is somewhat a little different to both Pakistan and India in its outlook.

 

[vi-va]

I don't understand why south Asian countries are always lagging behind . Countries like Pakistan and Bengladesh have a far larger population and market than Vietnam. Yet you guys barely attract any foreign investment or of you do it comes nowhere close to that of Vietnam. Vietnam went through a terrible war and destruction where the entire country was destroyed and went true turmoil during the vietnam war for independence against France then an even more destructive war against the US, then a brutal invasion by China which led to more destruction and subsequently they were isolated , sanctioned and considered a pariah by much of the world where they could not trade with basically anybody(not even their neighbours like China, Thailand or ASEAN). Yet it wasn't until the late 90s that the world (US,China, Europe,Japan) opened up to them and ease sanctions to let them trade and live like a normal country. Despite all this Vietnam is now growing way faster than you guys and they have long overtaken you guys in almost every economic/development field one can think of.
You guys in South Asia really need to learn from South east asian and East Asian countries.

1. Western democracy is based on hundreds years of graduated social reform, while India did NOT have fundamental social reform, instead jump into western democracy.
2. On the other hand, China, Vietnam society were completely reformed by China communist party and Vietnam communist party, which laid the foundation of progress.
3. Above 2 are are simple and consensus among Chinese, we Chinese understand the difference between India and China, while westerners were too obsessed and brainwashed by media, they simply don't understand this huge fundamental difference.
4. Western democracy is poison for most undeveloped countries, that's the fact.
5. No countries got developed by western democracy, that's fact.
6. Taiwan and South Korea were developed because of so called dictatorship, by Chiang Ching-kuo and Park Chung-hee respectively, as well as front line of Cold War, so they got the chance of foreign aid.

Last but not least, your so called China invasion is nothing compare with US invasion. US carpet bombing in Vietnam is marvelous, no one can compete.

Also Vietnam got US goodwill by Agent Orange. China never did that in history.

China kicked Vietnam a$$ from North for 1 month, after that only border skirmish. That's the price Vietnam betrayed China. Fair enough.

 

[Beast]

Congrat to vietnam for achieving this feat after your minister claim vietnam will not align with USA.

See the fruit of this outcome.
If vietnam agree to give up spratly island and alliance with China. I can gurantee vietnam will surpass Australia economy in 10 years time with China help.

 

[retaxis]

Who wins in a war thailand or vietnam?

 

[Song Hong]

I don't understand why south Asian countries are always lagging behind . Countries like Pakistan and Bengladesh have a far larger population and market than Vietnam. Yet you guys barely attract any foreign investment or of you do it comes nowhere close to that of Vietnam. Vietnam went through a terrible war and destruction where the entire country was destroyed and went true turmoil during the vietnam war for independence against France then an even more destructive war against the US, then a brutal invasion by China which led to more destruction and subsequently they were isolated , sanctioned and considered a pariah by much of the world where they could not trade with basically anybody(not even their neighbours like China, Thailand or ASEAN). Yet it wasn't until the late 90s that the world (US,China, Europe,Japan) opened up to them and ease sanctions to let them trade and live like a normal country. Despite all this Vietnam is now growing way faster than you guys and they have long overtaken you guys in almost every economic/development field one can think of.
You guys in South Asia really need to learn from South east asian and East Asian countries.

Experts pointed out that only Confucius civilization can challenge Western Civilization.

Many members from backward countries obviously have bigotry and feudal mindset despite they seems to be highly educated. Many are too superstitious.

In a macro level, this is disastrous.