The mountainous region of northern Vietnam is potential to develop agriculture, forestry, hydro power, minerals, tourism and border gate economic zones. However, this region has been facing difficulties because of poor economic conditions, backward development, and low socio-cultural awareness (as people there mainly belong to ethnic minority groups). This requires appropriate policies to promote trade in the mountainous region of Vietnam. Based on two experiential lessons from Chongqing and Yunnan, the author has drawn some experiences and useful measures to develop trade in the region.
Editor in chief NGUYEN BACH KHOA Deputy Editor in Chief SECTRETARY OF EDITORIAL OFFICE PHAM MINH DAT Editor in English NGUYEN THI LAN PHUONG Editorial SCIENTIFIC COUNCIL Dinh Van SON - Thuong mai University, Vietnam - President Pham Vu LUAN - Thuong mai University, Vietnam - Vice President Nguyen Bach KHOA - Thuong mai University, Vietnam - Deputy President THE Members Vu Thanh Tu ANH - Fulbright University in Vietnam, USA Le Xuan BA - Centural Institude for Economic Managerment, Vietnam Hervé B BOISMERY - University of La Reuinion, France H Eric BOUTIN - Toulon Var University, France Nguyen Thi DOAN - Vietnam Learning Promotion Association, Vietnam Haasis HANS - Dietrich - Institute of Shipping Economics and Logistics (isl) Bremen - Germany Le Quoc HOI - National Economic University, Vietnam Nguyen Thi Bich LOAN - Thuong mai University, Vietnam Nguyen Hoang LONG - Thuong mai University, Vietnam Nguyen MAI - Vietnam Economist Association, Vietnam Duong Thi Binh MINH - University of Economics HoChiMinh City, Vietnam Hee Cheon MOON - Korean Trade Research Association, South Korea Bui Xuan NHAN - Thuong mai University, Vietnam Luong Xuan QUY - Vietnam Economicst Association, Vietnam Nguyen Van Song - Vietnam National University of Agriculture Nguyen TAM - California State University, USA Truong Ba THANH - University of Danang, Vietnam Dinh Van THANH - Institude for Trade Research, Vietnam Do Minh THANH - Thuong mai University, Vietnam Le Dinh THANG - University of Québec Trois Riviéres, Canada Tran Dinh THIEN - Vietnam Institute of Economics, Vietnam Nguyen Quang THUAN - Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, Vietnam Le Nhu TUYEN - Grenoble École de Managment, France Washio TOMOHARU - Kwansei Gakuin University, Japan Zhang YUJIE - Tsinghua University, China Journal of Trade Science Volume Number April 2017 CONTENTS Nguyen Thi Phuong LIEN - Solutions to Develop Government Bond Market in Vietnam Nguyen Tran HUNG - Attract Online Customers to Job Websites in Vietnam Page 13 Nguyen Thi Kim OANH - Research Factors Affecting Hanoi Consumers Buying Decisions of Fashion Products 24 Chu Viet CUONG - Trade development in the mountainous region of northern Vietnam: Lessons from Chongqing and Yunnan, China 33 Dang Thi Minh NGUYET - Factors Affecting Productive Efficiency of Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade 41 Ying-Kai LIAO and Vu Minh QUAN and Alfiyatul Qomariyah - An Integrative Approach to Investigate Antecedents, Moderators and Consequences of Brand Equity 53 journal of Trade Science 5:1 (2017) 33 - 40 ’S JTS Chu Viet Cuong Thuong mai University Email: chuvietcuong0906@gmail.com Received: 20th January 2017 Revised: 6th March 2017 Approved: 13th March 2017 he mountainous region of northern Vietnam is potential to develop agriculture, forestry, hydro power, minerals, tourism and border gate economic zones However, this region has been facing difficulties because of poor economic conditions, backward development, and low socio-cultural awareness (as people there mainly belong to ethnic minority groups) This requires appropriate policies to promote trade in the mountainous region of Vietnam Based on two experiential lessons from Chongqing and Yunnan, the author has drawn some experiences and useful measures to develop trade in the region Keywords: Trade development, mountainous region of northern Vietnam, experiential lessons Theoretical basis, frameworks, and research methods Mountainous provinces of northern Vietnam are a large region, which plays an important role in developing national security, defense, economy, politics, culture and society Therefore, for tens of years, Vietnamese Communist Party and the government have been giving special treatments to the region with preferential policies in socio-economic development and poverty reduction in order to promote socio-economic development and to preserve cultural identity, which allows these provinces to fairly and stably develop and to make contribution to fulfill the common target of the country There are a lot of programs and policies that have been set up in these provinces such as the National Targeted Program for Poverty Reduction, CT 135, CT 134, and decision no 30A In addition to early achievement of the programs and projects, there have been several challenges in developing the region such as: poor living condition, developed but unsustainable economy, lack of connection among these provinces, and unfair investment in infrastructure especially in transportation Besides, the percentage of poor households and the risk of falling back into poverty are still high Most localities of the region have not had any strategy in training, recruiting and using high quality human resources especially ethic minority people, and special compensation and benefits packages Drug using and trafficking still occur, particularly in near-border provinces In order to effectively develop trade in mountainous provinces of northern Vietnam and deal with these problems, it is JOURNAL OF TRADE SCIENCE 33 Journal of Trade Science essential for Vietnamese Communist Party and the government to take sound steps which is suitable for cultural and socio-economic features of the region It is also significant to learn from other provinces with similar geographical and cultural features in our neighborhood, China As Vietnam and China share the same border and have gone through thousands of years together so there are similarities between the two countries in culture, people, and custom Moreover, Chongqing and Yunnan have the same features as mountainous provinces of northern Vietnam in many aspects For example, the two provinces also possess mountainous terrain with an abundance of natural resources but poor economic condition The people here are mainly ethnic minority ones, which creates the racial and linguistic diversity However, after nearly a decade of implementing development policies, Chongqing and Yunnan have gained remarkable achievements in economy, culture and society This is a valuable lesson in trade development for the mountainous region of northern Vietnam In this research, trade development of a socio-economic zone is the process of transformation and manufacture based on market orientation and regional comparative advantages to improve the quality and efficiency of the trade process and the market in order to accomplish the socio-economic development goal in the long term This research has been conducted when the quality of the market and trade in the northwest region of Vietnam is still low on both sides: the first side is consumer goods and means of production distribution system from developed regions to the northwest region and the other side is agricultural goods distribution system from the northwest region to its potential markets Therefore, trade development in the northwest region should be based on its core factors which means the input factors of the trade process) Next, in order to ensure the stability and sustainability of trade development, it is necessary to consider efficient factors of each system Finally, it needs to be developed innovative factors and a creative system as a perfect whole 34 JOURNAL OF TRADE SCIENCE ’S JTS This research focuses on the first factors which is to improve the "input" factors of the trade system including: the infrastructure factors, the unique comparative advantages factors, the human resources factors, the attraction and openness of the region's market factors to allure trade investment and tourism, and trade - economic connection factors The research framework for trade development in the northwest region of Vietnam based on the input factors is demonstrated in the figure no Research method: In this research, the author has applied the comparison and contrast method with the following steps: Firstly, the author chose a locality or a region which has similarities and dominant achievements in trade development of the region near China Next, through field trips, he identified and analyzed how the region has developed trade Then, he analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of the northwest trade zone of Vietnam Finally, he came up with solutions to develop the northwest region Pragmatic experiences in trade development of China When studying about trade zone development in Chongqing and Yunnan, two outstanding provinces of China, it is clear to realize that there are common policies applied to both provinces, such as: utilizing natural resources, adjusting sectors to appropriately develop, investing in infrastructure to create motivation development Furthermore, while Chongqing tends to sustainably develop and protect natural environment, Yunnan focuses on improving the quality of education and labor as well as opening market and enhancing domestic and foreign trade This is not only the key leading to success in trade zone development but also a lesson for Vietnam to learn 2.1 Lessons from Chongqing In March 1997, Chongqing was separated from Sichuan and became a national central city as well as one of the ten provinces, cities and autonomous regions of western China Located on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau and flown cross by the upper course of the Yangtze, Chongqing borders the following provinces: Hubei, Hunan, Guizhou, Sichuan and journal of Trade Science ’S JTS Infrastructure development Commercial human resources development Unique factors and market identity development Trade development efficiency in the northwest region Attraction and openness of the region’s market development Intra-regional and interregional economic - trade structure development Source: Reference Figure 1:The research framework for trade development in the northwest region of Vietnam Shaanxi It is not only the youngest city of China but also the fastest growing one Although Chongqing's area is just 82,400km2, its population is higher than Iraq, Peru and Malaysia (its population as of 2006 is 32 million people) [3] The establishment of Chongqing has been considered as a breakthrough and a significant policy in promoting economic development in the western region Pragmatic experiences in trade development of Chongqing Rapid development of infrastructure Compared to eastern provinces, the infrastructure of western provinces in general and of Chongqing in particular was more underdeveloped, which hinder economic development Therefore, China invested in improving infrastructure with the slogan "big investment, bigger construction, and gaining a head start by taking a shortcut" Chongqing's infrastructure mainly includes transportation and electrical grids Chongqing's transportation has gained remarkable achievements, thanks to the strategic position of the city, as follows [4]: - Five freeways have been built in Chongqing and the most important one is Chengdu Chongqing freeway which connects two urban cities "level one" of the western China (Urban cities "level one" are central cities which are able to create breakthroughs After short period of development, these urban cities will spread and become significant sources for the economic development of the western region.) - Three railways have been constructed in Chongqing in which Lanzhou - Chongqing railway is the one connecting the North and the South It is estiJOURNAL OF TRADE SCIENCE 35 Journal of Trade Science mated that by 2020, eight major railways will have been built in Chongqing - Chongqing international airport has launched flight routes to Hongkong, Dusseldorf, Tokyo, Nagoya, and Seoul - Located in the highlands of the Yangtze river, Chongqing harbor can accommodate vessels up to 12,000 tons Furthermore, the Three Gorges Dam also helps raising the water level so vessels can move faster, which takes less time to go to Shanghai - In addition to developing transportation, China also invests in electrical grids Thanks to the water power resources of the Yangtze river, the Three Gorges hydropower station has been built with an estimated maximum capacity of 22.5 gigawat, accounting for 11 percent of China's total hydropower capacity [5] Focusing on dealing with ecological problems Located in the highlands of the Yangtze river, source water and land protection has played an important role in not only Chongqing's but also the lowlands' development Therefore, the plan of building environmental protection centers has been implemented According to scientists, China should not make the same mistakes as developed countries but it should exploit and protect natural at the same time as well as ensure the balance between the socio-economic development and environment, human development and nature As a result, China imposes a ban on deforestation in the highlands of the Yangtze river and it also transforms timber and lumber companies into forest protection units Furthermore, China has tried to build waste water treatment centers The development of "special economy" Chongqing has chosen to develop sectors that have comparative advantages It has focused on electronics, engines and motorcycles manufacture, information technology and pharmaco - chemical products Chongqing is the fourth biggest engines manufacturing center in China and is a home to well-known groups such as Honda and Ford Many small-sized and big-sized industrial clusters and zones have been established to promote the economic development of the city [3] 36 JOURNAL OF TRADE SCIENCE ’S JTS 2.2 Lessons from Yunnan Yunnan is located near the border of Southwest China with the size of more than 390,000 km2 It borders provinces such as Sichuan, Guizhou, Guangxi and Tibet as well as neighboring countries such as Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam Also, Yunnan is close to Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, and South Asian countries such as Bangladesh and India As a result, it is considered as a bridge between China and South and Southeast Asia Besides, Yunnan has the highest number of ethnic groups in China 38 percent of the province's population is members of minorities Pragmatic experiences in trade development of Yunnan Rapid development of infrastructure Like Chongqing in the past, the underdeveloped infrastructure hindered the development of Yunnan Therefore, it is essential to construct and enhance the infrastructure conditions there Moreover, since Yunnan is situated in the strategic position as stated above, convenient transportation system is the motivation to promote the movement of goods and services Until 2009, Yunnan has built a total 167,000km of roads The highway network from Kunming connects with the borders of neighboring countries In the airline industry, Yunnan has constructed 12 airports and launched domestic flight routes and international flight routes to East and Southeast Asian countries [7] In addition to transportation development, China also focuses on the electrical grids Yunnan has the potentials of hydropower because of the system of 600 rivers with appropriate height It is estimated that its electricity generation capacity can be up to 470,000 million KWh which accounts for 25 percent of total electricity generation capacity of China Not only hydropower plants in Yunnan domestically provide electricity but they also supply Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam and Laos The development of "special economy" Yunnan is rich in natural resources with 19 kinds of minerals of high economic value which have been discovered such as tin, nickel, cobalt, and coal Therefore, the mining industry has had a significant place in the journal of Trade Science Chinese industry Yunnan's annual total value of mineral production is more than 200 billion yuan Besides, Yunnan has also invested in biological technology Thanks to special natural geography and climate with diversified ecosystem, Yunnan is famous for its natural resources Its major sectors include tobacco production, biotechnology, medicine production especially oriental medicine, and processing agricultural products such as flowers, pecans, mushrooms and coffee Tourism is also an economic pillar of Yunnan Diversified natural conditions and unique culture of ethnic groups are the advantages to develop this nonsmoke industry in Yunnan In 2005, it was in the top ten attractions of China Focusing on educational development Since Yunnan is a home to ethnic groups, the intellectual level of people here is not very high Statistics in 1999 showed that the illiteracy and semi-illiteracy rate among people above 15 was 24.34 percent, which would impede the province's development Consequently, the local authority has quickly universalized education and ameliorated labor qualification and vocational education Market openness Playing as a bridge between China and East and Southeast Asian countries, Yunnan has actively opened its market and traded with countries in the regions In particular, countries in the Mekong sub-region are big partners of Yunnan in exchanging commodities such as electronics, chemicals, and electricity [4] Socio - economic characteristics and challenges in trade development of the northwest region of Vietnam In order to make development policies suitable for the mountainous provinces of northern Vietnam, it is crucial to fully understand natural, cultural and socioeconomic characteristics of the region 3.1 Natural geography Under the administration of theNorthwest Steering Committee, the region includes 12 provinces: Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Son La, Hoa Binh, Phu Tho, Ha Giang, Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Cao Bang, Bac ’S JTS Kan, Lang Son, and Tuyen Quang This region has an area of 109,411km2 and a population of 10.7 million people, accounting for more than 33 percent of the area and approximately 12 percent of the population of Vietnam It shares a border with the People's Republic of China and the Lao People's Democratic Republic with the total border of 2,578km It has 61 border gates consisting of international border gates, 11 national border gates and 43 auxiliary ones The region is situated at the transitional area between Lao, western China, Myanmar, South China Sea and other Asian countries These characteristics are a testament to the important role of the region in ensuring security, politics, culture and the stability of economic development Northern mountainous provinces are featured by complex terrain with large sloping areas and divided by high mountain ranges The region is also the starting point of the big rivers such as the Red river, Black river, Chay river, Lo river, Ma river and Lam river Diversified climate conditions have created ecological subregions including tropical, sub-tropical, and temperate weather The differences between the subregions are competitive advantages in goods and services of the region 3.2 Economy Northern mountainous areas have a great advantage in forestry development with more than 5.8 million hectares of forestry land and nearly million hectares of unused land which is capable of developing forestry Primary forests of the region are rich in high quality forest products such as woods, bamboos, fruit trees, herbs and wild animals They also greatly contribute to hydrological inputs, ecological environment adjustment and environmental security for Northern and Northern Central lowlands Besides, the northwest region has the advantage to develop agriculture especially livestock farming and trees planting such as rubber trees, coffee trees, fruit trees and herbs The river system covers nearly all the region, which not only generates over 50 percent of hydropower capacity of Vietnam but also causes floods and landslides This region is also rich in mineral JOURNAL OF TRADE SCIENCE 37 Journal of Trade Science resources with high quality and quantity such as bronze, nickel, tin and iron This is potential to develop the mining and mineral processing industry 3.3 Population, culture, and society The population of northern mountainous provinces is 10.7 million people which accounts for 12 percent of Vietnam's population The working-age population represents 60 percent of the region's population Agroforestry-fishery workers account for 70 percent, industrial workers 13 percent, service workers 17 percent of economically active workers.[1] The labor structure is decreasing in the agro-forestry-fishery sector and increasing in the industry - construction - service sector Young human resources make up for major proportion, which is not only the advantage for socio-economic development but also pressure on education and training, employment, and daily needs Northern mountainous provinces are a home to more than 30 ethnic minority groups Kinh people account for 37 percent of the region's population while ethnic groups account for 67 percent The groups which have the highest number of people living there are Tay, Thai, Muong, Mong, and Nung Most people of Mong and Dao groups live in highlands, people of Kho Mu, Mang, Khang, and Xinh Mun groups live in midlands and mountain sides and mountain flanks, while people of Thai, Tay, Nung, and Muong groups live in valleys, mountain feet, and near rivers Northern mountainous provinces are divided into two distinctive areas which are the midlands and the mountainous areas The region includes provinces, 141 towns, districts and cities, 2,541 communes and wards, and 28,636 hamlets and villages Also, it has 1,366 communes of extreme poverty, which accounts for 59 percent of the total poorest communes of the country, and 45 districts of poverty, which represents 70 percent of the poorest districts in accordance with the government's resolution no 30A The midlands are large and have synchronous infrastructure, which is potential to develop goods economy with specialized areas associated with the processing industry and consumer markets On the contrary, the mountainous areas have complex terrain and is cut sharply The area's 38 JOURNAL OF TRADE SCIENCE ’S JTS population is 5,957 people accounting for 56.13 percent of the population of the northern mountainous provinces Living styles and farming practices are different between ethnic communities Besides, people there often live in remote villages The distance from villages to central areas or high ways is rather far so there are differences in customs, qualifications and living standards between villages and central areas.[2] 3.4 Difficulties in trade development in the northern region of Vietnam Northern mountainous provinces border China and Laos and are rich in mineral and forestry resources, which is the advantage to develop their economy However, the differences in infrastructure, human resources, and culture between the subregions have greatly impaired the region's development Here are the main challenges in trade development of the region [2]: - The region is short of infrastructure for trade The region's stratified terrain has posed challenges in the investment and development of infrastructure, population distribution, and the construction of industrial zones and urban areas Besides, it is difficult to expand agricultural land to establish specialized goods producing areas in the way of industrialization and modernization Furthermore, the lack of transport infrastructure has also hindered investment in the region, increased the cost of goods, and reduced competitive ability of enterprises - The region's human resources are lacking in both quality and quantity As a result, they are not able to learn or apply technology to manufacturing, trade and real-life situations In addition, due to the distance and isolation, the people there cannot approach to the market economic mechanism and new economic mechanism so they continue to self-sufficiency - There are differences in languages and customs between ethnic groups Therefore, it is not easy to fully propagate the government's policies to the people in remote areas As a result, ethnic people, especially the poor ones, have not understood their rights and obligations to fulfill journal of Trade Science - It lacks intra-regional investment resources The low qualification of production has led to limited capital Most local expenditures have been derived from the national budget because the region does not have enough resources to deploy creative management methods in developing economy and society and ensuring national security Besides, people in the region cannot approach goods producing methods so they are not able to efficiently use the capital supported by the national targeted program - Local officers and people of the region lack management ability Management ability of local officers has not met the standard so it limits the work efficiency - Forestry economy has decreased People in the northern region of Vietnam mainly are heavily dependent on forests for their livelihood However, many primary forests have been depleted and in danger of exhaustion Therefore, forest products have decreased greatly Without forests soil fertility, cattle feed, fresh water and living environment cannot increase while flash floods and landslides poses a threat to people living there Furthermore, climate in the region is rather harsh because it is frozen and dry in winter, which has bad impacts on the growth of crops Vietnamese Communist Party and the government have made many policies to develop trade in the northern mountainous provinces However, the effectiveness of these policies and programs is not really high as the economy of the region and subregions has shifted slowly and the living condition of people has remained difficult To address these problems, in addition to being aware of the intra-region challenges, policy makers need to learn from neighboring countries Therefore, in the part below, the author will present two successful stories from Chongqing and Yunnan, China Suggestions on trade development in the northwest region of Vietnam Under the trend of development and integration, region development is considered a significant policy in sustainable development Programs and policies which concentrate on developing strategic geographi- ’S JTS cal but poor regions have gained much investment from the government The northern mountainous provinces have competitive advantages for trade development such as diversified natural resources and unique cultural identity However, the region has faced a lot of difficulties in development such as low quality infrastructure and human resources or natural disasters Therefore, it is essential to mitigate problems and promote potentials to generate profit for the region This should be taken from experiences of Chongqing and Yunnan whose conditions are similar to that of the northern region of Vietnam The author thinks that we can learn from studies in the characteristics, history and development policies of Chongqing and Yunnan to develop trade in the northern region In particular, he believes that it is appropriate to focus on sustainable development in associated with special economy development Steps should be taken logically to avoid mistakes in investment, resources allocation or policy and program implementation Firstly, the most important thing is investing in infrastructure, especially transportation networks in districts, communes and villages, to promote goods manufacturing and exchanging Complete infrastructure and transportation networks will contribute to cultural and socio-economic development Secondly, the government needs to quickly realize strengths of each subregion to build strategies for industrial and services cluster development This will help to utilize and promote full potentials and resources available of every subregion Besides, significant sector development strategies should ensure both particular characteristics of each subregion and general ones of the whole region Industry sector needs to focus on natural conservations, woods and herbs processing, and mining industry In addition, services sector should diversely develop cultural tourism, community-based tourism and tourist attractions tourism Thirdly, it is critical to develop education and environment protection in the way of sustainable development With regard to education, it is necessary to focus on vocational training and implementing vocational JOURNAL OF TRADE SCIENCE 39 Journal of Trade Science development projects in localities As a result, people there will have an opportunity to study and work at the same, which will ensure the living quality improvement and their livelihood Besides, companies which are exploiting natural resources of the region must hold responsibilities for the environmental protection and the full weight of the law should be imposed The last but not least is financial problems which have influences on methods above Due to the lack of capital resources, it is critical for public and private sectors to collaborate with each other However, it is also crucial to determine the rights, obligations and responsibilities and interest distribution of each development program and project to avoid group interests which can badly effect on the implementation Besides, each project or program should mention interregional assistance, which means provinces which are close to other provinces are more convenient to help each other while provinces which are far from other provinces can make technological, financial and orientation aid each other References: Vietnam Institute for Development Strategies Overall plan forsocio - economic development of Northern midland and mountainous region by 2020, Ministry of Planning and Investment ’S JTS Le Kha Dau, Analysis and evaluation report on the National Targeted Programs in the period of 2001 - 2015 in the northwest region, A special subject of scientific project no NCKH-TB/13-18, 2014 http://www China-briefing.com Nguyen Kim Bao, et al., The adjustment of Chinese economic policies (From 1992 to 2010) 2004: Social Sciences Publishing House http://www.bbc.com http://www.chinaculture.org Zhenming.Z, Yunnan's industrial development policy and intermediate goods trade with MRBCs, in intermediate goods trade in East Asia: Economic deepening through FTAs/EPAs 2011, Bangkok Research Centre Summary Miền núi khu vực giàu tiềm năng, với lợi phát triển nông, lâm nghiệp, thủy điện, khoáng sản, du lòch kinh tế cửa Tuy nhiên, khu vực gặp nhiều khó khăn kinh tế nghèo nàn, chậm phát triển, trình độ văn hóa xã hội thấp (chủ yếu người dân tộc thiểu số) Điều đặt yêu cầu cần phải có sách phù hợp để phát triển thương mại miền núi Việt Nam Dựa vào học từ tỉnh Trùng Khánh Vân Nam Trung Quốc, viết rút vài kinh nghiệm giải pháp hữu ích cho phát triển thương mại tỉnh miền núi phía Bắc Việt Nam CHU VIET CUONG Personal Profile: - Name: Chu Viet Cuong - Date of birth: 09/6/1981 - Title: Master - Workplace: Thuong mai University - Position: Officer Major research directions: - Commercial economy - Regional economic development - Economic management Publications the author has published his works: - Trade Science Review 40 JOURNAL OF TRADE SCIENCE ... develop the northwest region Pragmatic experiences in trade development of China When studying about trade zone development in Chongqing and Yunnan, two outstanding provinces of China, it is clear... successful stories from Chongqing and Yunnan, China Suggestions on trade development in the northwest region of Vietnam Under the trend of development and integration, region development is considered... Nung, and Muong groups live in valleys, mountain feet, and near rivers Northern mountainous provinces are divided into two distinctive areas which are the midlands and the mountainous areas The region