Robert Bryce: Coal-Fired Electricity Sparks Manufacturing Boom in Vietnam: Mini Documentary Summary & Review

     This is basically a quick review of Bryce’s short mini-documentary on the coal-fired electricity boom in Vietnam and how it is powering a strong manufacturing sector, including increasing trade with the U.S.

     Bryce made the mini doc in Saigon, or as it is now known, Ho Chi Minh City. He notes the massive economic growth in recent years of the communist country. He notes that Vietnam has the biggest trade surplus with the U.S. of any country. Vietnam exports more goods to the U.S. than any other country. He notes that more than $100 billion in direct investment has gone into Vietnam since 2020.

     He gives three reasons why Vietnam is becoming a manufacturing powerhouse: 1) Vietnam has a huge working-age population. This means labor is relatively cheap; 2) the country has enough land to expand manufacturing; and 3) multinational corporations are diversifying out of China due to supply chain reliability issues.

     The chart below shows that electricity and GDP growth have grown in tandem.

     The chart below shows that coal use has grown as well. The country has the fastest-growing coal use on the planet. Now, it gets more than half of its electricity from coal.

     Bryce interviews commodities trader and energy writer David Chernikau, who notes that Vietnam has been growing economically at a rate of 8% per year. Chernikau says that Vietnam is developing a Middle Class. The country has about 100 million people and an installed electricity capacity of 100 GW. Peak power is about 60 GW. He compares it to Germany: 80 million people, 80 GW of peak power. He notes that coal is not only powering Vietnam, but also the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia. His work suggests that basically the entire growth of these countries over the past 20 years has been from coal-fired electricity.

     The graph below compares coal use in the U.S. with coal use in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam.

     The graph below shows the trade surpluses some of these countries have with the U.S., with Vietnam in the lead. He also notes that U.S coal exports to these Asian countries have grown sixfold since 2010. Thus, he says that the U.S. is not really using less coal. It is instead exporting more to Asia to be burned there. 

     Bryce notes that Vietnam is currently building 6 GW of new coal-fired capacity with another 3 GW in development. He pauses here to tout his Iron Law of Electricity, which says that people, businesses, and countries will do whatever they have to do to get the electricity they need. He says that coal is proliferating because it is reliably affordable and can be easily mined, transported, and plants can be built.

     There are some things missing in the video, such as mining conditions in these countries, which do mine their own domestic coal as well as importing it, air quality, which is worsened by burning coal, water quality, which is worsened by coal, carbon emissions, coal ash management, and the fact that Vietnam is still officially a communist country, although ‘market-oriented socialism’ is probably a better descriptor. There are five recognized communist countries: China, North Korea, Vietnam, Laos, and Cuba. Nicaragua is likely on a similar path. According to Factually:

“Analysts emphasize that economic liberalization in these countries has not translated into political pluralism; party control remains central even as capitalist practices expand.”      

     Thus, the U.S. is trading heavily with a communist country that is not China, one that, like China, has one-party rule, no opposition parties, and one that approves and repeats a lot of Russian propaganda as well as communist propaganda, ie. 'LIES.' 

  

  

References:

 

Vietnam Plugs In: Fifty years after the fall of Saigon, Vietnam has become a manufacturing powerhouse, driven by an electricity boom that’s fueled by coal. Robert Bryce. Substack. August 18, 2026. Vietnam Plugs In - Robert Bryce

Which countries still call themselves communist today and how do their political systems differ? Factually. Researched on March 14, 2026. Which countries still call themselves communist today ...