Since the beginning of the 20th century, both China and Vietnam have emerged as major economies in the international economic sphere. The economically most successful Asian countries have embarked on a path of development based on agricultural-led industrialisation. In the coming few years, many economies of Asia are expected to advance on to the next stage of development strategy and transformation. This paper aims to evaluate major debates about the various policies and strategies that were followed in the two countries and the economic benefits and costs of decentralization, experimentation, gradualism and how effective was state-led development in achieving economic goals in the two economies.