Why Trade Winner Vietnam Is Taking Some Blows

Rarely has winning looked less appealing. Widely hailed in the past few years as a big beneficiary of US-China economic rivalry, Vietnam is stumbling. Its recent performance is so anemic that China's much-derided recovery looks relatively vigorous. Hanoi can't escape the gravity of slowing global growth — combined with some homegrown setbacks.

That the nation's travails have received minimal attention says a lot about how narratives can get stuck. When tensions between Beijing and Washington escalated during Donald Trump's presidency, Vietnam became the toast of think tanks and investment banks. It had proximity to China. The country was busy enmeshing itself in supply chains that dotted Southeast Asia, especially in electronics. Its Communist rulers had developed cordial ties with the US. Real estate was booming. Things that might go wrong were glossed over if ever considered at all.