[ThanhPhero]

China never sent food after the Americans left. Việt Nam went then through the Starving Years as the Communists tried to impose collective farming. At some point the Party people realized that they were going to starve, too, so they dumped collectivism. They announced that since the people refused to cooperate they were going to be left to their own devices and could just starve to death without Party help. Việt Nam was exporting rice two years later and a LOT of rice the year after that. Coffee followed likewise. The Communists did Việt Nam a tremendous favor by refusing to send food and then by attacking the country in a border war.

Vietnamese are and have always been natural traders and have enough Christian admixture in the society that they have learned to trust the other party in a deal without being related to him. That extrafamilial trust is the main secular gift of the Jews to the world.

[dfwgator]

Vietnam was a Soviet client, they did not get along with the ChiComs, they even had a small war in 1979.

[RayChuang88]

In fact, the growing conditions in Vietnam--especially in the Mekong Delta region--is perfect for growing rice just as good as what the Thai Milagrosa rice can be. Small wonder why the Thais are nervous, especially it seems the Thai government is getting less stable than in Vietnam, of all things! And the Vietnamese are starting to figure out how to grow truly quality Robusta coffee beans, and that could be bad news for the likes of Brazil.