Crossing the line: The changing nature of highlander cross-border trade in Northern Vietnam

This thesis investigates how changing Vietnamese state control over the Vietnam-China border has impacted cross-border trade networks and livelihoods of border residents in Lao Cai province, North Vietnam. The investigation uses information from qualitative research with 91 marketplace traders and border officials at four crossing points in the province. I find that state control over the border and cross-border trade has increased as this trade has been progressively brought within legal parameters from 1954 to 2005.; By taking a commodity chain approach to investigate the trade networks of three locally produced goods that move across the border I discuss the complex interactions of state policy, social relations and location factors in shaping contemporary cross-border trade. This investigation suggests that state policy to encourage small scale cross-border trade and new tradable commodities are increasing the livelihood options available to border residents in the province.