So how did this growth miracle happen? According to analysts from the World Bank and the think tank Brookings, Viet Nam's economic rise can be explained by three main factors: "First, it has embraced trade liberalization with gusto. Second, it has complemented external liberalization with domestic reforms through deregulation and lowering the cost of doing business. Finally, Viet Nam has invested heavily in human and physical capital, predominantly through public investments."

Regarding the first factor, the analysts point to the various free trade agreements Viet Nam has signed in the last 20 years. In 1995, Viet Nam joined the ASEAN free trade area. In 2000, it signed a free trade agreement with the US, and in 2007 it joined the World Trade Organisation. Since then, further ASEAN agreements followed with China, India, Japan and Korea, and just this year, the amended Trans-Pacific Partnership went into effect - albeit without the US.

The cumulative effect of all these agreements was to gradually lower the tariffs imposed on both imports and exports to and from Viet Nam...