But yet in the end, Vietnam didn't exactly stay "Communist" for long. When China liberalized its economy under Deng Xiaopeng in starting in 1979, Vietnam followed in China's footsteps soon after, especially when influential people in that country like Vo Nguyen Giap wanted Vietnam to be like the reforming China. As such, Vietnam turned into to huge agricultural exporter, especially coffee, rice and sugar cane. Yeah, Vietnam and Thailand have been arguing back and forth in the World Trade Organization over rice exports, but then, some of the best long-grain rice in the world come from the Mekong Delta, comparable to Thailand's "jasmine rice."