Agricultural policy in Vietnam; agricultural cooperation.

The unilateral and regional ASEAN and now APEC) trade and investment liberalizations pursued by Vietnam during recent years have begun transforming the economy. The next logical step is to join the World Trade Organization, an application for which was submitted in 1995. The WTO legal bindings will give traders and investors increased confidence in the reform programme. This book outlines what the WTO accession process involves, what policies Vietnam will have to change, and what the economic effects will be, particularly on rural development.

Although the adoption of market reforms has been a key factor leading to China’s recent economic growth, China continues to be governed by a communist party and has a socialist-influenced legal system. Vietnam, starting later, also with a socialist-influenced legal system, has followed a similar reform path, and other countries too are now looking towards China and Vietnam as models for development. This book provides a comprehensive, comparative assessment of legal developments in China and Vietnam, examining similarities and differences, and raising important questions such as: Is there a distinctive Chinese model, and/or a more general East Asian Model? If so, can it be flexibly applied to social and economic conditions in different countries? If it cannot be applied to a culturally and politically similar country like Vietnam, is the model transportable elsewhere in the world? Combining ‘micro’ or interpretive methods with ‘macro’ or structural traditions, the book provides a nuanced account of legal reforms in China and Vietnam, highlighting the factors likely to promote, change or resist the spread of the Chinese model.