VietNamNet Bridge - A National Assembly Deputy has suggested rejecting ODA from China. Experts have mentioned ‘the right to haggle about ODA’.

ODA (official development assistance) is not free. Sometimes it puts heavy burdens on ODA recipients. It is the right time for Vietnam to become choosier when receiving ODA and support, because it may has to pay a heavy price for the support. That is what experts repeatedly have said in local newspapers in recent years.

However, the issue has only been addressed in an official way when a National Assembly’s deputy said at the ongoing session that the government should not accept ODA from China.

ODA, in many cases, is not as cheap as people think, because Vietnam, as ODA recipient, has to accept a lot of conditions set by the donor. Meanwhile, receiving ODA from China may cause difficulties to Vietnam’s legal battle for its sovereignty claims. These are the reasons behind the suggestion made by the National Assembly’s Deputy – Truong Trong Nghia, who is a lawyer.

“The relation between Vietnam and China is very ‘sensitive’ because China has occupied a part of the Vietnamese territory,” Nghia said during an interview with VnExpress.

In principle, ODA is provided on the trade basis – borrowing and paying back. One would say that it is necessary to differentiate between politics and business. However, Nghia reminded that China once cited its economic support on the political negotiation table.

“I once expected from the Chinese leaders the promise about respect towards Vietnam’s sovereignty and territory, not the promise on providing aid of one billion yuan that Xi made during his recent visit to Vietnam,” he said.

“Nghia is right. China is not the only ODA provider. We have many other donors,” a reader commented after reading the interview with Nghia. 

Meanwhile, an economist said the government should be cautious with Chinese ODA, even though the territory dispute problems do not exist. 

“From the economic angle, ODA from China is very expensive and risky,” he commented. 

The public was upset in mid-2015, when a series of accidents occurred at the construction site of the Cat Linh – Ha Dong railway project, causing serious damage. Many economists then pointed out that Chinese contractors usually bid lower prices to win the bids, but deliberately prolong project implementation and then ask to increase the projects’ estimates.

Some analysts have made sarcastic remarks that Vietnam has fallen into the Chinese trap because it receives ODA from the country. 

However, they are cautious when talking about the ‘right to haggle about ODA’. 

Dr. Nguyen Van Nam, a well-known expert, noted that everyone is aware of Chinese technologies and Chinese machines’ low quality. However, Vietnam still needs China’s money at least for now.

CV