Laos Pivots Away from China -- to Vietnam

Joshua Kurlantzick, Asia Unbound
Laos's economy, though one of the fastest growing in Asia, remains dominated by Chinese, Thai, and Vietnamese companies; U.S. investors are minuscule players in the country right now, and that is unlikely to change any time soon. The United States government has boosted aid for programs designed to protect the environment of the Mekong River basin, improve nutrition in Laos, and address other environmental and health issues, but U.S. investors are less enthusiastic about Laos. Laos's most important sectors, like energy, are not particularly attractive to U.S. companies that do not want to...