Look at these Nike shoes.
They're made in Vietnam.
And today,
more than 50% of Nike shoes
are made here in Vietnam.
And only about
20% of Nike shoes.
Now, are made in China.
Check this shirt
you're wearing right now.
There's a pretty fair chance
that it was made in Vietnam,
not made in China, but Vietnam.
This country has been searching
for manufacturing
over the past couple of years
for a variety of reasons.
But I'm here to understand
if its economic growth
is going to continue
and could it
possibly become the next China?
Today, trade with Vietnam
is surging with the U.S.,
while China's imports to
the U.S. is actually going down.
Made in. Vietnam.
Vietnam India.
Made in China.
Made in Vietnam.
It's kind of interesting
because this is the same brand.
This shirt
I bought about three years
ago, Made in China.
This I bought just
a couple of months ago.
Made in Vietnam.
GDP per capita in Vietnam
is about 20 $700.
In China, it's
nearly four times
higher at about $10,000.
China became the second
largest economy in the world
as a result of its trade
with the U.S.
But things are changing.
The U.S.
imported
36% more in value
from Vietnam in 2019
than the year
before, importing $67 billion
worth of stuff.
In 2020
it continued to grow
to nearly $80 billion.
OK yes that's
still a fraction
of imports from China
which was
about $435 billion in 2020.
But trade actually went down
by almost
4% that same year the same year
it surged with Vietnam.
I've come to this
fabrics market
here in Ho Chi Minh City
and it's massive.
I mean you pick a random store,
you walk inside
and then there's back alleys
and more back alleys.
There are so many
of these stores.
China, China,
China, China, China,
China, China, China, China.
President Trump
waged a trade war
against China in 2018,
basically accusing China
of making its currency
value low.
So it would be competitive
for companies
to do business with.
And as a result of this, Trump
added tariffs
to almost
a half a trillion dollars
worth of goods.
Because of the trade war.
A lot of companies got nervous.
They said
maybe
China is not the best place
to do business.
What if things change?
What if tension rises?
What if there are sanctions?
What if the cost of doing
business here
doubles, triples, quadruples
over the next few years?
So they got worried and said,
We need an alternative.
We need another place
where we can manufacture.
And Vietnam
became the place to do that.
Vietnam has a
pretty good relationship
with the U.S.
and its currency is stable,
mostly staying consistent
to the US dollar.
Over the past
ten years,
Vietnam is very close to China.
Of course,
prices of labor
are cheaper than China,
and it's a stable economy.
It's a stable government.
Vietnam has truly
become one of the great miracles
of the world.
Vietnam is considered
to be
an ally of the United States,
even hosting President Trump's
meeting with North
Korea's Kim Jong un.
And there are a lot of disputes
over the South China
Sea, which China says it owns.
But Vietnam and the U.S.
pushed back on that.
Vietnam benefited
from that tariff war
because it saw an opportunity
to take some of the business
that was going into China
for manufacturing.
And of course, companies
liked it.
So why wouldn't companies
try and offset
some of their reliance on China
here in Vietnam?
So there are a few reasons.
That things are shifting
rising costs in China,
the uncertainty over
that trade war.
But there's also a third
COVID. China's
borders are closed
and lockdowns
are still happening in 2022.
While Vietnam has reopened its
borders,
while most economies
were extremely challenged
during the pandemic here
in Vietnam,
their economy was growing
by a lot. In 2020.
When things were really scary
for many countries
and companies,
Vietnam actually
saw a trade surplus with the US.
So the 25% surge in trade
that the US and Vietnam
are doing together.
By the way,
if you're enjoying this video,
my name is Uptin
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Last year,
more than half of all Nike
shoes were made in Vietnam.
Vietnam has become
a big exporter of furniture,
computers, electronics
and apparel.
Today, Vietnam is considered
the main country
for manufacturing
for Adidas and Nike.
This textile market
is never ending.
Everywhere I look, it's
just more and more and more.
But some economists say
not so fast.
Vietnam cannot
become the next China.
And here are two reasons why.
China's population
is 1.4 billion
people versus Vietnam's
95 million.
Vietnam will never be able
to truly fill in China's
shoes for world demand.
And the other reason is that
China has been building
infrastructure for decades now.
In Vietnam, not so much.
Highways and factories
are getting big investments
now, but China's had a huge
lead on that.
But as companies
are increasingly moving
into Vietnam,
it's also raising
the living standard
for millions of people here.
In fact, while the U.S.
struggles
from a declining middle
class, Vietnam
is seeing millions more enter
the middle class over the past
few decades.
Vietnam
went from
one of the poorest countries
in the world
to a fast
growing middle income economy.
Just look at this luxury mall
I find in Ho Chi Minh City.
With every luxury retailer
you can imagine.
A lot of my friends
back in the U.S.,
when they think about Vietnam,
they think of manufacturing,
they think of farms.
They would be really surprised
to see
a luxury mall
like this
with a lot of designer stores.
And then
there are the massive
new building
projects that I see,
many of them
advertising for the luxury life.
What's up, guys?
Thanks for watching this video.
Let me know in the comments.
What do you think?
Does Vietnam have the potential
to become the next China?
While you're at it,
check out more of my videos
here in Vietnam
and around the world, and I'll
see you soon.