Vietnam is about to elect its President again, and has approved the appointment of three Deputy Prime Ministers
It is reported that Vietnam will elect a new President in October this year, after adding a title of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam to Su Lin. That is to say, after serving as the President of Vietnam for about 5 months, Sulin will no longer hold this position.
In October of this year, Vietnam will elect a new President, and Sulin will no longer hold this position
Xinhua News Agency quoted Vietnam News Agency as saying that at the 8th special session of the 15th National Assembly of Vietnam held on August 26, a group of senior officials including three deputy prime ministers were appointed.
It is not difficult to judge that the political situation in Vietnam is stable. This point has been analyzed and emphasized by Hai Shu in several previous articles related to Vietnam.
01
Let's take a look at the words of the Secretary General of the Vietnamese National Assembly, Pha Van Quang. It stated that the newly appointed General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Sulin, will step down from his position as President of the country, and the Vietnamese National Assembly will elect a new President in October.
Hai Shu believes that this means that Vietnam's "four carriage" structure is stable. Although Nguyen Phuc Trong briefly held the positions of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam and President of Vietnam before his death, adjustments were made shortly thereafter.
Now, in a shorter period of time than when Nguyen Phuc Trong concurrently held two positions, Su Lin has decided not to hold these positions and will instead serve as the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
He himself, in 2024, went from being the Minister of Public Security of Vietnam, to the President of Vietnam, to serving as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the President of Vietnam, and is about to step down as the President of Vietnam. His job changes are indeed frequent. But it also to some extent demonstrates the stability and orderliness of Vietnam's political situation.
In short, Vietnam is about to return to the conventional situation of having four different individuals serving as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the President of the country, the Prime Minister of the government, and the President of the National Assembly. It can even be said that after the death of Nguyen Phuc Trong, Vietnam steadily went through a transitional period.
02
Of course, we also need to see job changes within Vietnam's senior management.
At the time when Su Lin became the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, four members of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, namely Leon Lai, Deng Guoqing, Jue Wenlin, and Ruan Chunji, resigned on the same day.
From left: Lai Ming Kai, Deng Guoqing, Jue Wenlin, Ruan Chunji
After announcing that Su Lin would no longer serve as the President of Vietnam, the appointment of several high-ranking officials, including three Deputy Prime Ministers, was approved at the 8th Special Session of the 15th National Assembly of Vietnam. According to Xinhua News Agency citing Vietnam News Agency, the Vietnamese National Assembly has approved the appointment of:
Nguyen Phuc Binh, President of the Supreme People's Court of Vietnam
Vietnamese Finance Minister Hu Defu
Vietnamese Foreign Minister Pei Qingshan has been appointed as the new Deputy Prime Minister of the Vietnamese government,
Approved the appointment of Dong Duwei, Secretary of the Anpei Provincial Party Committee, as the Minister of Resources and Environment of Vietnam, and Nguyen Haining, Secretary of the Qinghe Provincial Party Committee, as the Minister of Justice of Vietnam.
It is not difficult to see that several high-ranking officials of the Vietnamese government have been promoted——
Promoted from ministerial level to vice premier level.
On the afternoon of August 26th, at the 8th special session of the 15th National Assembly, with the majority of representatives voting in favor, the Vietnamese National Assembly passed a resolution approving the Prime Minister's proposal to appoint Deputy Prime Ministers and Ministers
Exploring the arrangements of these individuals, one may also look back at the recent history of Vietnam. That is to say, during the period when Pham Minh Thanh served as the Prime Minister of Vietnam, among the several deputy prime ministers who served alongside him, Pham Binh Minh and Vu Duc Tan were dismissed in January 2023 for their political responsibility in corruption cases related to epidemic prevention, and Pham Binh Minh also resigned from his party position as a member of the Central Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
On the same day that Pham Binh Minh and Wu Dedan resigned, the Vietnamese National Assembly approved the appointment proposal of Chen Honghe and Chen Liuguang as Deputy Prime Ministers of the government at a special session. Among them, Chen Honghe comes from northern Vietnam and holds a doctoral degree in mining. He has been working in the natural resources department for a long time; Chen Liuguang holds a Master's degree in Public Administration and served as the Secretary of the Coastal Defense Committee of an economically important city and municipality from 2021 to 2023.
Afterwards, another Vice Premier, Lai Man sing, passed away on August 22, 2023. On June 6, 2024, former Minister of Justice of Vietnam, Le Chan Long, was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister. On the same day, Liang Sanguang, the second ranked deputy minister when Su Lin was appointed as the Minister of Public Security and also from Xing'an Province, was appointed as the Minister of Public Security.
Various impressions, anyway——
While the party and government system is relatively stable, high-level officials in Vietnam have arranged frequent changes.
And of course, this is closely related to the anti-corruption campaign launched by Nguyen Phuc Trong as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam. At present, it is worth observing whether the Vietnamese Communist Party led by Su Lin will follow the Nguyen Phuc Trong line and carry out the anti-corruption campaign in the "melting pot" after the overall situation is stable and the personnel adjustment plan is smoothly implemented. Similarly, how will the "bamboo" diplomacy initiated by Nguyen Phuc Trong continue, will it evolve, and how will it evolve? All worth exploring!
03
Not long ago, Su Lin made his first foreign visit since serving as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, coming to China for a state visit.
Subsequently, some media reported that Vietnam needs China's assistance in areas such as standard gauge railway construction and power supply.
This is very important.
Compared to China's reform and opening up, Vietnam's reform and opening up came a few years later. That is to say, Vietnam's economic takeoff also came later than China's. Not long ago, Vietnam was criticized by some Western media. It claims to have undertaken many industrial transfers from China. In other words, in terms of investment environment, Vietnam is not inferior to China. Combined with the advantage of being a latecomer, its human resource costs are lower than those of China currently.
These situations, Hai Shu believes, do have some truth, but they are more exaggerated.
People are taking the Jiling Hedong light rail line constructed by China Railway Sixth Group Co., Ltd. in Hanoi, Vietnam. Map: Xinhua News Agency
Vietnam's infrastructure is not as good as China's. Modern industry, transportation, energy supply, etc. are all the foundation. Without these foundations, it is very difficult to undertake industries from countries or regions with a foundation.
This is also why some large enterprises that previously went to South Asia and Southeast Asia to build factories have recently shown a trend of returning to China. Of course, in terms of the future of China and Vietnam, if they can cooperate with each other and form an effective industrial chain connection, they will surely take the relationship of comrades and brothers to a higher level.
Further strengthening the comprehensive strategic partnership and promoting the construction of a China Vietnam community with a shared future are not empty words!
This world is not a zero sum world. When we realize this and promote joint efforts for development, what is needed is for our southern neighbor - Vietnam - to be able to govern smoothly and develop steadily. In this way, China, Vietnam, and even the surrounding areas will have a better tomorrow!
