The Chinese community in Vietnam, which has been actively involved in the economic activities and trade with the mainland China, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan after the Economic Reform, is evaluated that it is recovering its economic role and position as to the level before South Vietnam lost war in 1975.
The Chinese community in Vietnam has been maintained as minority group among various ethnicities residing in the country,even though Vietnam had long been hostile to China from Chinese Rule, in which China dominated the country for about one thousand years, to Independence period, to China Vietnam war in 1979.
This is because the Chinese community in Vietnam retains its own cultural characteristics, and plays a unique role in the Vietnamese society. Therefore, to comprehend the process of formation of the Chinese community and its role in the society enables us to understand the past, present and the future of the Chinese community in Vietnam.
This paper defines the Chinese people in Vietnam from the Vietnamese perspective, distinguishes the formation process of the community based on each period, from Chinese Rule, Independence period, Nguyen Dynasty, French colony, division of North and South, isolation period after its unification in 1975, to the present day after Doi Moi in 1986. In addition, this paper examines the role of the Chinese community in Vietnam in each period, and forecasts its roles and directions to go in the future.