On the afternoon of March 17, at the Party Central Committee headquarters in Hanoi, the General Secretary chaired a working session with the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and several ministries and sectors on international trade relations and trade connectivity with key partners amid the current global geopolitical and geo-economic landscape.

Attending the meeting were Politburo members and Secretariat members Le Minh Hung, Head of the Party Central Committee’s Organization Commission; Nguyen Thanh Nghi, Head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Policies and Strategies; and Pham Gia Tuc, Chief of the Party Central Committee Office.

Representing the MoIT were the member of the Party Central Committee and Acting Minister Le Manh Hung, along with deputy ministers, leaders of affiliated departments and agencies, and representatives from several central ministries and sectors.

After hearing reports from the MoIT and opinions from participants, the General Secretary acknowledged and highly appreciated the sector’s achievements in 2025, urging it to continue efforts to fulfill key tasks in 2026, commensurate with its role as a core pillar of the national economy.

He requested the MoIT to continue studying and fully absorbing feedback from the meeting, and to urgently review and report to the Politburo and the Party Central Committee on outstanding issues in economic and trade relations between Vietnam and key partners, while proposing solutions to address them.

Regarding orientations for developing economic and trade relations between Vietnam and its partners in the coming period, the General Secretary emphasized that the Party and State consistently pursue an independent and self-reliant foreign policy for peace, friendship, cooperation and development, while promoting diversification and multilateralization of international relations, ensuring that national interests are placed at the highest priority.

Based on the Resolution of the 14th National Party Congress and Resolution No. 66-NQ/TW dated April 30, 2025 of the Politburo on reforming law-making and enforcement to meet development requirements in the new era with a focus on strategic autonomy, he stressed that relevant agencies must formulate a concrete strategy to restructure the economy, gradually balance the trade balance while ensuring growth objectives; “remove constraints” in outdated thinking; foster a balanced approach between promoting cooperation and managing risks; and link trade with technological upgrading, modern equipment, and high-quality investment, alongside stringent requirements on localization rates, technology transfer, and enhancing the position of Vietnamese enterprises in global production chains.

The General Secretary also directed the Standing Board of the Government’s Party Committee to focus resources on studying and implementing several orientations in the time ahead, including accelerating sustainable exports, strengthening domestic production capacity, and diversifying export-import markets; reviewing and improving inspection and supervision processes for production activities, quality management, testing, quarantine, cultivation area management, and traceability; reviewing goods circulation flows; and studying the development of substantive and balanced industrial cooperation plans aimed at enhancing production capacity, localization rates, and value added for Vietnam’s industrial products.

He assigned the Standing Board of the Government’s Party Committee, the MoIT’s Party Committee, and relevant ministries and sectors to urgently study and propose solutions to implement the above orientations, ensuring the principle that one agency handles multiple tasks while each task is assigned to a single lead agency responsible for its implementation, with decisive, methodical, and creative execution to deliver tangible results.