“Business is Not Easy to Do”: The Vagaries of Border Trade from the Chinese Wholesalers’ Perspective

Abstract

Chinese traders established in Mong Cai are the key-actors of a flourishing border trade for the last two decades. Even though the city various markets display an on-going activity, many of these Chinese wholesalers stress their concern regarding the efficiency of border trade organisation. Based on numerous interviews of Chinese traders and their Vietnamese customers, this article explores some of the structural, contextual, and cultural issues that challenge the commercial collaboration between border traders’ communities.