2025 marks 50 years since Vietnam's reunification. A great moment to reflect on the country's remarkable transformation. Since launching major economic reforms four decades ago, Vietnam has achieved one of the world’s fastest growth rates, attracting global investment as companies shift production from China.

Today, it's a lower middle-income nation with bold ambitions to become a developed, high-income country by 2045. But, as Vietnam looks ahead, it faces significant challenges, from how to unleash more human creativity and reforming institutions to getting badly needed investments in infrastructure off the ground.

And like every other country, Vietnam cannot escape dealing with a fragmenting world order, that will challenge its famed bamboo diplomacy, where Hanoi works to be friends with everyone. Something that might no longer suit a geopolitical environment that incereasingly demands chosing sides.

In this episode, hear dr. Hai Hong Nguyen discuss all these points, and more. He's a senior lecturer in politics, social change, and international relations at VinUniversity in Hanoi.

This conversation is part of our long-running web series A Closer Look and available as video on the Asia Society YouTube channel.

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STATE OF ASIA is a podcast from Asia Society Switzerland. 
Season 8, episode 16 - Published: July 8, 2025
Host/Editor: Remko Tanis, Managing Editor, Asia Society Switzerland