SCMP: EVFTA can’t topple China’s world factory

• Agreement to slash tariffs should boost European investment in Asia’s ‘export rock star’, but is no silver bullet for post-coronavirus recovery, experts say
• And don’t expect an exodus of manufacturers from China to Vietnam, they add. Hanoi relies on its neighbour and can’t replicate its scale even if it tried

Even as many in the region hail a free-trade deal between the European Union and Hanoi for opening up new economic possibilities, analysts say it is unlikely to be a silver bullet for Vietnam’s post-Covid-19 recovery.

Chinese analysts also think it is unlikely the European Union Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which was ratified on Tuesday, will result in a substantial number of foreign investors and manufacturers relocating from China to Vietnam.

Full story: https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3088836/why-eu-vietnam-free-trade-deal-cant-topple-china-worlds-factory