How to Move Manufacturing From China to Vietnam in Five Steps
Moving manufacturing from China to Vietnam comes down to five steps: confirm your product can be made in Vietnam, calculate the real cost savings, prepare your specifications and tooling for transfer, find a qualified Vietnamese supplier, and manage the first production run through to shipping. The whole process typically takes 3 to 6 months for a straightforward product.
I have been running these transitions for clients at Cosmo Sourcing since 2014. I have personally visited hundreds of factories across Vietnam, from garment operations in the Mekong Delta to electronics assembly plants outside Hanoi. The shift from China to Vietnam has been the dominant trend in our business over the past several years, and in 2025, with reciprocal tariffs hitting 20% on Vietnamese goods versus far higher rates on Chinese products, the pace picked up dramatically. For a broader comparison of the two countries, see our China vs. Vietnam Manufacturing Guide.
updated Feb 21, 2026
Step 1: Determine Whether Your Product Can Be Made in Vietnam
This is where most people trip up. Not everything that can be made in China can be made in Vietnam, and I have had to turn away clients who came to us with products that were not a fit.
Vietnam excels in textiles and garments, footwear, furniture and wood products, consumer electronics assembly, basic metal fabrication, plastics, packaging, and handicrafts. If your product falls in one of those categories, you are likely in good shape.
Where it gets tricky: Vietnam's factories still import 70 to 80% of electronic components from China, and the textile industry sources a large share of its raw materials from China as well. I have walked through factories in Binh Duong Province that were producing the same product as a Shenzhen factory, at noticeably lower cost. However, the raw materials were still crossing the border from Guangxi. That dependency is real and affects lead times.
If your product requires cutting-edge precision engineering, extremely niche materials, or processes that only a handful of Chinese factories have mastered, China is still the better option. I had a client last year who wanted to move injection-molded medical device components from Dongguan to Vietnam. After auditing five Vietnamese factories, we concluded that none could match the tolerances the Chinese factory was holding. We told the client to keep that product line in China and move their simpler packaging components to Vietnam instead. That kind of honest assessment is what keeps projects from failing.
We publish a detailed guide on what products can be manufactured in Vietnam.
Tooling is a common sticking point. If your Chinese supplier designed custom molds or dies for your product, they will often refuse to release them. I have seen these otherwise straightforward kill moves. We advise clients to clarify IP and tooling ownership with their Chinese supplier before starting anything. In many cases, we work with Vietnamese factories to re-engineer the tooling, but that adds cost and a 4 to 8 week lead time.
Step 2: Calculate the Real Cost Savings
The labor cost gap is the headline, but I have seen clients get burned by looking at labor alone without accounting for the full picture.
Vietnam's minimum wage ranges from about 3,450,000 VND (~$137/month) in rural areas to 4,960,000 VND (~$196/month) in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi (July 2024 adjustment). Average manufacturing income hit about VND 8.3 million (~$319/month) in Q3 2025. Chinese factory wages in cities like Shenzhen commonly exceed $600 to $800/month.
Here is what you actually need to budget:
Raw materials from China: Your Vietnamese factory will likely continue sourcing components and materials from China. Northern Vietnam borders Guangxi Province, so cross-border logistics are fast (often just days), but these costs are not zero.
First-run productivity loss: Chinese factories with years of experience running your product will be more efficient than a Vietnamese factory seeing it for the first time. I tell clients to expect 10 to 15% lower efficiency on the first production run, which usually normalizes by the second or third order.
Shipping: Sea freight from Vietnam to the U.S. West Coast takes 3 to 4 weeks, nearly identical to the time from China. The ports at Cat Lai (Ho Chi Minh City), Cai Mep-Thi Vai, and Hai Phong are modern and handle large container volumes.
Tariffs: The current 20% U.S. reciprocal tariff on Vietnamese goods versus significantly higher rates on Chinese products makes Vietnam the clear winner on landed cost for most consumer goods. See the tariff section below for the latest details.
Transition costs: New supplier qualification, sample runs, possible tooling re-creation, specification translation, and a factory visit. For a simple product, budget $5,000 to $15,000. For complex products with custom tooling, significantly more.
For most consumer goods, the combined savings are compelling even after transition costs. I recently worked with a client moving canvas bag production from Guangzhou to Ho Chi Minh City. Their per-unit cost dropped by 30%, and even after factoring in the $8,000 they spent on new samples, a factory visit, and a pre-production inspection, they broke even on the third order.
Step 3: Prepare Your Specifications for Transfer
This step separates smooth transitions from messy ones. The more thorough your documentation, the fewer problems you will have.
You need: detailed product specification sheets (dimensions, materials, finishes, tolerances), a bill of materials with exact component specs, quality control checklists with acceptable defect criteria, packaging specs, testing or certification requirements (UL, CE, CPSC, etc.), and photos plus physical samples of the finished product.
Most mid- to senior-level managers at export-oriented Vietnamese factories work comfortably in English. I have also found that factories with Chinese ownership, which are common in southern Vietnam, often have staff fluent in Mandarin. If your existing documentation is in Chinese and English, translation is straightforward. Many of the factories I visit have trilingual managers who handle Chinese, Vietnamese, and English on a daily basis.
If you own a factory in China and are considering a full physical relocation, the costs escalate fast. Equipment relocation can exceed $1 million. Industrial parks in Vietnam (over 400 now, up from 325 a few years ago) offer factory space leases from roughly $3 to $5 per square meter, with long-term land leases in the $80 to $120/sqm range. The government offers CIT holidays and reduced rates for manufacturers in designated zones.
Most of our clients at Cosmo Sourcing are not physically relocating a factory. They are finding a new contract manufacturer in Vietnam and transferring product specs. That is a fundamentally different (and much less expensive) undertaking.
Step 4: Find a Qualified Vietnamese Supplier
Finding a good factory in Vietnam is nothing like finding one in China. In China, you post on Alibaba, and suppliers come to you. In Vietnam, the best factories often have zero online presence. No Alibaba listing, no English website, nothing. I have walked into world-class factories producing for Nike and Samsung subcontractors that you would never find through a Google search.
That is why working with a sourcing company matters here. At Cosmo Sourcing, we source suppliers through factory databases, industry associations, trade shows, government registries, and relationships we have built over more than a decade. For every project, we typically receive original quotes from 2 to 6 factories, deliver them with full factory contact information, and facilitate direct introductions. We charge a flat fee with no commission on your orders.
We have a guide to finding manufacturing companies in Vietnam if you want to research independently. We also strongly recommend visiting factories in person before committing to a major production run. We arrange these visits regularly, and they are often the single most valuable step a client takes.
What to look for in a supplier: export experience with your target market, relevant certifications, willingness to produce samples before commitment, clear communication in English, capacity to scale with your growth, and transparency about where they source their own raw materials.
For an honest look at what makes Vietnam different from China on the factory floor, read our guide on the challenges of sourcing in Vietnam.
Step 5: Manage the First Production Run and Ship
The first order at a new factory requires more oversight than your established Chinese supplier. I cannot stress this enough. Quality issues that are invisible in a sample can surface at scale, and a new factory has not yet learned your standards.
We recommend an in-line inspection during the first production run and a pre-shipment inspection before goods leave the factory. At Cosmo Sourcing, we handle both of these for clients. On several occasions, catching a color-matching issue or a stitching problem mid-production has saved clients from receiving a container of defective goods.
Shipping from Vietnam is well-developed. Maersk, MSC, CMA CGM, and all major carriers operate here. Key departure ports are Cat Lai (Ho Chi Minh City), Cai Mep-Thi Vai (deep-water, handles the largest ships), and Hai Phong in the north. Transit to U.S. ports is comparable to that of China. Air freight routes from Tan Son Nhat and Noi Bai connect to all major global hubs.
Consider a phased approach. Many of our clients do not move everything at once. They keep their Chinese supplier for existing orders and onboard a Vietnamese supplier for new products or simpler items first. This reduces risk and lets you build confidence before committing fully. I generally recommend this dual-sourcing strategy for anyone whose annual order value exceeds $100,000.
Tariff Considerations (Current as of February 2026)
Tariffs are a moving target, and anyone making this decision based on tariff savings needs to verify the current rates. Here is where things stand:
Vietnam: 20% reciprocal tariff on Vietnamese goods, effective August 7, 2025 (negotiated down from the initial 46%).
China: A combination of Section 301 tariffs and additional tariffs results in effective rates on Chinese goods that are significantly higher than Vietnam's for most consumer products.
IEEPA ruling: In February 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that using emergency powers (IEEPA) to impose the "Liberation Day" reciprocal tariffs was not legal. The practical impact on Vietnam's 20% rate is still developing. Consult a customs broker or trade attorney for current guidance.
Section 232: 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports from all countries, including Vietnam.
Transshipment enforcement: Both the U.S. and Vietnam have increased enforcement against goods routed through Vietnam to avoid Chinese tariffs. Your product must have a genuine Vietnamese origin.
Do not build a business plan around today's tariff rate without checking whether it is still in effect when you are ready to ship. I have seen clients plan a full move based on tariff savings, only to have the rates shift mid-transition. Always leave a margin in your cost projections.
Move Your Production to Vietnam with Cosmo Sourcing
Cosmo Sourcing has been helping businesses source from Vietnam since 2014. We have supported over 4,000 clients with more than 10,000 products, and the China-to-Vietnam transition is one of the most common projects we handle. Our team in Ho Chi Minh City works directly with factories across the country.
We provide supplier identification with original factory quotes (typically 2-6 per project), direct factory introductions with full contact details, factory audits, quality inspections, and logistics coordination. Our pricing is a transparent flat fee, no commissions, no markups on factory quotes.
If you are considering the move, reach out. We will give you an honest assessment of whether your product is a good fit for Vietnam.
Email: info@cosmosourcing.com Contact form: cosmosourcing.com/contact-us