Socialist-oriented market economy

The socialist-oriented market economy (Vietnamese: Kinh tế thị trường định hướng xã hội chủ nghĩa) is the official title given to the current economic system in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. It is described as a multi-sectoral market economy where the state sector plays the decisive role in directing economic development, with the eventual long-term goal of developing socialism. The socialist-oriented market economy is a product of the Đổi Mới economic reforms which led to the replacement of the centrally planned economy with a market-based mixed economy based on the predominance of state-owned industry. These reforms were undertaken to allow Vietnam to integrate with the global market economy. The term "socialist-oriented" is used to highlight the fact that Vietnam has not yet achieved socialism and is in the process of building the basis for a future socialist system. The economic model is similar to the socialist market economy employed in the People's Republic of China. The Đổi Mới economic reforms were initiated by the Communist Party of Vietnam in 1986 during the party's 6th National Congress. These reforms introduced a greater role for market forces for the coordination of economic activity between enterprises and government agencies, and allowed for private ownership of small enterprises and the creation of a stock exchange for both state and non-state enterprises. The economic reforms aimed to restructure the Vietnamese economy away from Soviet-type central planning and towards a market-based mixed economy intended to be a transitional phase in the development of a socialist economy. The goal of this economic system is to improve the productive forces of the economy, developing a firm technical-material base for the foundation of socialism, and to enable Vietnam to better integrate with the world economy. In the early 1990s, Vietnam accepted some World Bank reform advice for market liberalization, but rejected structural adjustment programs and conditional aid funding requiring privatization of state-owned enterprises.