International media agencies have widely covered the recently-concluded 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, with Nguyen Phu Trong being re-elected to the post of General Secretary. 

The 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam has
charted a new course for the nation in the coming five to 10 years.

China’s State-run Xinhua News Agency reviewed some of the event’s major highlights, noting that the National Congress agreed on various goals and orientations on national development up to 2030, with a further vision towards 2045, as well as the GDP growth target set for the 2021 to 2025 period.

The Chinese News Agency reported on General Secretary Trong’s speech at the function’s closing ceremony on February 1, pledging that the 200-member Party Central Committee of the 13th tenure will unite and work hard to successfully implement the Congress’s resolution.

Major Malaysian newspapers covered the re-election of the Party chief on February 1, as well as the election of various delegates to the Party’s Political Bureau and the Party’s Secretariat.

According to The Star, over the coming five-year tenure General Secretary Trong and other Vietnamese leaders will first focus on economic recovery efforts amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic greatly impacting many global markets, alongside other challenges.

The Star therefore anticipates that there would be no significant changes to the nation’s geopolitical and economic orientations following the results of the latest election.

Meanwhile, Free Malaysia Today reviewed Vietnamese progress in the fight against corruption over the past five years, stressing that the fight is still ongoing under the new Party leadership.

Elsewhere, media outlet Nikkei Asia of Japan reported that the 13th Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam had concluded with delegates deciding to re-elect General Secretary Trong to the highest leadership role for the next term.

In terms of the country's future policies, Nikkei Asia quoted Dr. Le Hong Hiep, an expert on Vietnamese economy and politics at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Research Institute in Singapore, who believes Vietnam will maintain its current foreign policy and pursue a strategy of diversification and international economic integration. This will be carried out whilst simultaneously striving to boost relations with major powers and supporting ASEAN’s role in geopolitical terms.

Several newspapers in Hong Kong (China) also put the results of the election of the 13th National Party Congress on their frontpages. They highlighted the various fights against corruption that Vietnam has pursued, along with General Secretary Trong’s great determination to accelerate the fight over the course of the coming term.