Economic position of Vietnam in ASEAN economic community (AEC)

Abstract

The process of Vietnam participating in ASEAN in the past 26 years (1995-2021) has shown that it has many practical contributions to this organization. In a new international and regional context, Vietnam with its new position and strength after 35 years of renovation gives it opportunities to contribute more to the solidarity and integration of ASEAN. In addition, the formation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is a chance for Vietnam to expand its development for the Southeast Asian community’s peace, cooperation, and development in the future. After 26 years of participating in this regional organization, Vietnam has made many significant contributions to turning ASEAN into a framework of peaceful cooperation for mutual development. From ASEAN-6 to ASEAN-7 and ASEAN-10, it is clear that as a responsible member, Vietnam's position and influence in this region have been increasingly recognized. Through various dialogue mechanisms, Vietnam today has become an important and comprehensive economic partner of AEC. In this study, the research team used statistical data from the World Bank, the General Statistics Office of Vietnam, the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) of the World Economic Forum, labor productivity of the Asian Productivity Organization (APO) to clarify Vietnam's economic position in AEC. The collected data shows that Vietnam's economic position within AEC countries has increased; however, it still faces many challenges and the risk of economic backwardness. Based on that, the study proposes some solutions to enhance Vietnam's economic position in AEC.