Small firms can play a big role

I was still at college when China launched the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013. I remember Ohana, one of my friends from Vietnam, said back then that the BRI appeared to be a China-led project in which only big State-owned enterprises could participate.

However, when I met her during this May Day holiday break in Vietnam, she told me she was surprised to find small and private businesses playing a role in the BRI.

Her brother landed a decent job with a small Chinese textile company that expanded its business to Vietnam under the BRI framework.