Vietnam expands exports across global trade

Capacity investments support long-distance trade growth.

Vietnam is strengthening its position in global trade as high-tech exports surge, with logistics players scaling capacity to support longer-distance flows and rising demand.

Bernardo Bautista, Country Manager of DHL Express Vietnam, said the country is no longer just a China alternative but an emerging manufacturing powerhouse in its own right. “Vietnam definitely is becoming a top tier manufacturing power,” he said. “Vietnam is in the middle of benefiting from the shift out of China, but Vietnam, on its own, is already going to become a top tier manufacturing.”

That shift is driving higher export volumes and more complex trade routes as global supply chains stretch across multiple regions. To keep pace, DHL Express is expanding its network and gateway capacity in Vietnam.

“So we have just recently invested in the north. In Hanoi, we more than quadrupled our capacity,” Bautista said, adding that the company is also increasing flights to maintain service levels.

In southern Vietnam, future growth will also be supported by new infrastructure. “The government is actually building a new airport, and that will give us more than enough capacity to grow and continue to grow in Vietnam,” he said.

Despite geopolitical tensions between major economies, Vietnam has maintained trade links with both the US and China, reinforcing its role as a neutral hub in global supply chains.

Bautista said local businesses should stay focused on product quality and execution rather than external politics. “To stay neutral, right? If you make sure that you make the best product that you have, that you connect with customers… political tensions will always be there,” he said. “If you just focus on your business, you are more than on the safe side.”

As exports rise and trade distances lengthen, Vietnam’s ability to scale infrastructure and preserve neutrality is becoming central to its emergence as a top-tier manufacturing and export base.