Non-agricultural Activities of Ethnic Minorities in Vietnam-China Borderland

Tóm tắt

The Vietnam-China borderland bears a strategically important geopolitical position for Vietnam. When Vietnam and China normalised ties in 1991, their bilateral relations were shifted into a new era, more positive than before, facilitating the development of cross-border economy, contributing to the development of the household economy and improving the living standards of local ethnic minority groups, especially those of the Hmong, Dao (Yao), Tay and Nung. Therein, non-agricultural activities, especially traditional handicrafts, working as hired labour, and doing small-scale business, bear an important role and high significance. However, at present, the ethnic minority groups are still faced with many difficulties and challenges, among which the most noteworthy are the lack of financial capital, low educational level, local labour being mostly manual and untrained, and increasing social instability.