Vietnam is a “socialist market economy” under the firm control of the Communist Party.(1) It is a significant and active member of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), one of two such ASEAN members(2) that are one-party communist states. Vietnam has been a World Trade Organisation (WTO) member since 2007, is an APEC member economy, a party to the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), and a signatory to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).(3) Its economy is ranked 37th by GDP, flanked by Hong Kong and Denmark,(4) so it is of considerable economic weight in Asia.