This chapter examines how transversal competencies, referred to as “general competencies” in Vietnam’s latest national curriculum, have emerged in policies and curricula, and in curriculum interpretations by teachers. While Vietnam has developed a quality education system in terms of participation and learning outcomes on tests, there have long been calls for education to foster a broader range of competencies that are necessary for living in a changing society. The most recent reform, competency-based education (CBE), includes both general and subject-specific competencies. In this chapter, we reflect on how the competency-based curriculum reform is expressed in curricular documents and understood by teachers, and how the construction of competencies is informed by diverse perspectives on the values, behaviors, and knowledge that students should enact. We specifically analyze the meanings teachers attribute to the general competencies of self-directed learning and autonomy, communication and cooperation, as well as creative thinking and problem-solving. Our analysis is informed by data from the RISE Vietnam study, which interviewed policymakers, principals, and teachers about the competency-based curriculum. We conclude with some tensions among differing approaches to defining competencies and the values and behaviors those competencies aim to cultivate.