The 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon highlighted Vietnam’s emergence as a key economic player in the region.

In 2004, bilateral two-way trade between Australia and Vietnam in goods and services was valued at Aust. $3.7 billion ($2.85 billion), with trade growing at 14.7 per cent over the previous year.

Shipments jumped 34 percent year over year to $12 billion in April, while imports from China grew 31 percent, fueling U.S. duty-evasion concerns.