Which party espouses “speeding up economic growth, achieving an important change in raising efficiency and in sustainability of development … and developing a knowledge-based economy?”

Does this sound like the Democratic presidential contenders, senators Clinton and Obama?

Actually, these are the goals of the Communist Party leadership of Vietnam, included in the closing documents of the country’s 10th National Congress of the Vietnam Communist Party in 2006, which included a resolution to open their markets. These are not “mere words,” but the basis for a greater rule of law, more open markets, new securities laws, streamlined regulations, and a generally improved business climate in Vietnam.

On Tuesday, the permanent representative of Viet Nam to the United Nations, Le Luong Minh, addressed a small gathering of business people and potential investors hosted by the law firm of Duane Morris to further this message.

“For the last five or six years, the U.N. mission has been dedicated to supporting Vietnam’s businesses. We are moving to an open economy,” he said.

As a result of pro-capitalist policies, the number of private Vietnamese companies has soared to more than 150,000 today from just 3,600 in 1999. Moreover, the amount of foreign investment is going through the roof and personal income is growing rapidly. In his brief address earlier this week, Mr. Minh mentioned that in the final document of the country’s 10th congress is also the commitment that investors “can foresee what will happen; there will be no surprises and no upsets.” Mr. Minh went on to list the trade associations that Vietnam has entered into in recent years. The list includes most importantly the World Trade Organization, into which Vietnam was admitted on January 11, 2007, after 11 years of waiting. Vietnam also has joined the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and has free trade associations with the European Union and America.

After almost two decades of growing at a rate better than 7% annually, “we are hopeful this year we can get off the list of ‘poor undeveloped countries,'” Mr. Minh said almost wistfully (or, just possibly, ironically). “We hope to be an ‘industrialized country’ by 2020.”

Vietnam will likely meet that objective if the optimism at the Duane Morris gathering is any indication. Duane Morris is one of only three American law firms to have an office in Vietnam, and it is bullish on the country’s future. A partner at the firm, Eduardo Ramos-Gomez, likened Vietnam to China 20 years ago. He noted that the country benefits from one of the youngest populations in the world and one of the highest literacy rates. Currently, manufacturing costs in Vietnam are running between 75% and 80% of China’s level.

Duane Morris’s partner in charge of Singapore and Vietnam, Chris Muessel, foresees considerable opportunities for foreign investors. The country has ambitious plans for infrastructure development, including the construction of major new highway links across the entire Southeast Asian region. Also, he anticipates considerable “equitization” among as many as 100 of Vietnam’s top companies, which involves selling pieces of firms to foreign strategic buyers and then putting partial listings of them on one of the country’s two stock exchanges. Companies in banking, insurance, telecoms, and energy development are all likely candidates.

The communist government of Vietnam may be more pro-commerce and pro-investment than either of the Democratic candidates.

Mr. Obama will undoubtedly find much to criticize in our relationship with Vietnam. Since a bilateral trade agreement went into effect in 2001, Vietnam’s exports to America have jumped to about $8.5 billion a year from just a few hundred thousand dollars a year. Exports from America to Vietnam have not risen nearly as fast, last year accounting for about $1.5 billion.

While acknowledging that higher manufacturing costs in America place us at a disadvantage selling products to Vietnam, one of the speakers at Tuesday’s gathering also noted that until recently, there was not much money available in Vietnam (or China) to spend on high-price American goods. Certainly that is changing, especially in China, where the middle class has grown rapidly to an estimated 300 million people. It would be a disaster to restrict our companies’ opportunities to trade just as these countries become significant markets for our luxury products.

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