VIETNAM IS AN IMPORTANT LINK IN THE GLOBAL INDUSTRIAL CHAIN AND SUPPLY CHAIN. HOWEVER, THE CONTINUED SPREAD OF THE COVID-19 EPIDEMIC HAS HAD A SERIOUS IMPACT ON THE LOCAL MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY. IN ORDER TO RESTORE THE ECONOMY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, VIETNAM LIFTED THE LOCKDOWN MEASURES IN HO CHI MINH CITY AND SURROUNDING AREAS WITH DEVELOPED MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES EARLIER THIS MONTH, BUT A LARGE NUMBER OF WORKERS TOOK THIS OPPORTUNITY TO FLEE THE CITY. AT SOME CHECKPOINTS, THERE ARE EVEN SCENES OF WORKERS KNEELING DOWN TO REQUEST CLEARANCE.VIETNAM: MILLIONS OF MIGRANT WORKERS FLEE CITIES DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC LIFTINGA LARGE NUMBER OF VIETNAMESE MIGRANT WORKERS WHO HAD NO TIME TO DO THE SCREENING OF COVID-19 WERE STOPPED AT THE CHECKPOINT ON THEIR WAY HOME. THEY KNELT DOWN AND ASKED THE EPIDEMIC PREVENTION DEPARTMENT TO RELEASE THEM. STARTING FROM THE BEGINNING OF THIS MONTH, A LARGE ARMY OF MOTORCYCLES FROM THE INDUSTRIAL ZONE IN SOUTHERN VIETNAM HAS BEEN POURING INTO THE WESTERN REGION, CAUSING CONGESTION IN MANY AREAS.ACCORDING TO STATISTICS FROM THE VIETNAMESE MINISTRY OF HEALTH, FROM OCTOBER 1ST TO 8TH, OUT OF A TOTAL OF 157000 PEOPLE WHO RETURNED HOME IN VIETNAM, MORE THAN 1000 TESTED POSITIVE. THE VIETNAMESE GOVERNMENT EXPECTS THAT THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE RETURNING HOME MAY EXCEED 2 MILLION.HUNDREDS OF EMPLOYEES FLED DUE TO ONE CONFIRMED CASE OF THE EPIDEMIC, CASTING A SHADOW OVER THE PRODUCTION LINEIN FACT, THE FEAR OF COVID-19 HAS ALWAYS BEEN ACCOMPANIED BY WORKERS AT THE PRODUCTION LINE. IN JULY THIS YEAR, HUNDREDS OF EMPLOYEES FORCED TO FLEE FROM A FACTORY IN PINGYANG PROVINCE, VIETNAM, ONLY BECAUSE ONE EMPLOYEE IN THE FACTORY WAS DIAGNOSED AS COVID-19 THAT DAY.IN THE PAST THREE MONTHS, VIETNAM HAS ADDED NEARLY 770000 CONFIRMED CASES IN TOTAL, OF WHICH 19000 PEOPLE DIED DUE TO COVID-19, AND THE DEATH TOLL IS BASICALLY CONCENTRATED IN HO CHI MINH CITY, A CITY WITH DEVELOPED MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY.THE GOVERNMENT RELUCTANTLY LIFTED THE LOCKDOWN AND WORKERS TOOK THE OPPORTUNITY TO ESCAPEDUE TO NUMEROUS INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES HAVING PRODUCTION LINES IN VIETNAM, A LARGE NUMBER OF MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISES HAVE SUFFERED HEAVY LOSSES IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS DUE TO THE SUSPENSION OF PRODUCTION CAUSED BY THE EPIDEMIC. UNDER PRESSURE FROM VARIOUS PARTIES, THE VIETNAMESE GOVERNMENT CHOSE TO LIFT THE LOCKDOWN WHILE ILL, BUT THINGS DID NOT GO AS PLANNED, AND WORKERS TOOK THE OPPORTUNITY TO FLEE THE CITY ONE AFTER ANOTHER. ON OCTOBER 3RD, A MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISE IN BINH DUONG PROVINCE, VIETNAM RESPONDED TO THE CALL TO RESUME WORK AND PRODUCTION, BUT THE EMPLOYEE ATTENDANCE RATE WAS LESS THAN 20%.ONE THIRD OF TEXTILE WORKERS ARE UNABLE TO RESUME PRODUCTION AFTER LEAVING THEIR POSTSON OCTOBER 6TH, GLOBAL FOOTWEAR GIANT BAOCHENG GROUP ANNOUNCED THE RESUMPTION OF PRODUCTION, BUT THE NUMBER OF ON DUTY WORKERS DID NOT EXCEED 30%, AND OVER 40000 WORKERS HAVE NOT YET RETURNED TO WORK. DESPITE IMPLEMENTING SALARY INCREASES AND PERSUASION PLANS, EMPLOYEES' WILLINGNESS TO RETURN TO WORK IS STILL NOT HIGH. ACCORDING TO STATISTICS, THERE ARE ABOUT 3 MILLION WORKERS IN VIETNAM'S TEXTILE AND GARMENT INDUSTRY, OF WHICH ABOUT 1 MILLION ARE CURRENTLY ON LEAVE OR VACATION.PAN JIN'E, A VIETNAM EXPERT AT THE CHINESE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES: FROM JULY TO SEPTEMBER, ALMOST ALL FACTORIES IN THE SOUTHERN REGION WERE SHUT DOWN. AGAINST THIS BACKDROP, OF COURSE, ITS ECONOMY IS CLEARLY GOING TO DECLINE BECAUSE VIETNAM'S DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN TRADE HAS REACHED OVER 200%.