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One problem in Vietnam is that it really does NOT have the infrastructure that China has. (Just look at the state of public transport in China vs Vietnam.) It'

One problem in Vietnam is that it really does NOT have the infrastructure that China has. (Just look at the state of public transport in China vs Vietnam.) It's better than Laos/Cambodia, but the streets are now flooded with cars far more than even 1 year ago, and the traffic is becoming a huge issue. And right now, with all the new factories, Vietnam is suddenly almost as polluted as China. (Just recently we have record AQI numbers here.) But of course rich countries don't care about that, as long as the phones are cheap... All in all, people are happy, since it helps their bottom line. But the infrastructure is not there yet to beat China.

krageon 7y ago
I am not sure why it is up to "rich countries" to fix Vietnam's pollution problem. Do not allow the building of factories that pollute a lot and it will get better. This is something Vietnam can do on it's own. Absolutely zero foreign interference required.
- whoevercares 7y ago
  Wait aren’t we talking about an popular initiative to move all factories to Vietnam??
- oblio 7y ago
  Easy for you to say. Not so easy for really poor people. Rich countries can help: for example Western companies can mandate that all their suppliers, for their entire chains, down to natural resources, have low levels of pollution. Vietnam and other countries like it will have to comply, in order to sell their products.
- netsharc 7y ago
  That's a bit simplistic... "Mr. Tim Apple, we have 2 options to build the next iPhone factory, Vietnam and Laos. They're almost identical, except Vietnam will cost 5% more because of their anti-pollution laws.". What would you do in Tim Apple's position? Nike stopped using child labour because of (Western) public outcry, without it they'd go for the factory offering the cheapest price. Next you'll say, then it's up to the Vietnamese to have a public outcry about pollution. But corrupt governments seem to have a way to get away with anything, just look at the Dakota pipeline, or arctic drilling...

krageon 7y ago

I am not sure why it is up to "rich countries" to fix Vietnam's pollution problem. Do not allow the building of factories that pollute a lot and it will get better. This is something Vietnam can do on it's own. Absolutely zero foreign interference required.

whoevercares 7y ago
Wait aren’t we talking about an popular initiative to move all factories to Vietnam??
oblio 7y ago
Easy for you to say. Not so easy for really poor people. Rich countries can help: for example Western companies can mandate that all their suppliers, for their entire chains, down to natural resources, have low levels of pollution. Vietnam and other countries like it will have to comply, in order to sell their products.
netsharc 7y ago
That's a bit simplistic... "Mr. Tim Apple, we have 2 options to build the next iPhone factory, Vietnam and Laos. They're almost identical, except Vietnam will cost 5% more because of their anti-pollution laws.". What would you do in Tim Apple's position? Nike stopped using child labour because of (Western) public outcry, without it they'd go for the factory offering the cheapest price. Next you'll say, then it's up to the Vietnamese to have a public outcry about pollution. But corrupt governments seem to have a way to get away with anything, just look at the Dakota pipeline, or arctic drilling...