The draft documents submitted to the 14^th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) have been prepared in a serious, thorough, meticulous manner, containing many new elements. Among them, the Political Report is the core document, comprehensively and fully addressing major issues. After careful study, the author of this article would like to contribute some opinions on the guiding principles set out in the draft Political Report, focusing in particular on new aspects of these principles.

The 13th Party Central Committee’s 12th Plenum (photo: nhandan.vn)

On the basis of assessing and forecasting the global, regional, and domestic situation, with a clear understanding of the opportunities and challenges for national construction, development, and defence in the new era, the draft Political Report to the CPV’s 14^th National Congress sets out five guiding principles. These may be summarised as follows: (1) To remain steadfast in, apply, and creatively develop Marxism - Leninism, Ho Chi Minh Thought, and the theoretical framework of the Doi Moi (renovation) policy; and to uphold firmly the goal of national independence and socialism. (2) To promptly identify and swiftly harness all advantages and opportunities, overcome every difficulty and challenge so as to ensure rapid and sustainable national development; to closely integrate and uniformly perform strategic tasks, with socio-economic development and environmental protection at the core. (3) To vigorously promote the comprehensive building and perfection of institutions to foster rapid, sustainable national development; to resolutely, promptly remove bottlenecks, unlock and liberate productive forces and all resources, and maximise every driving force; and to inspire strong patriotism and aspiration for national development. (4) To promote the strength of the people, great national unity, and people’s hearts and minds posture; to combine national strength with the strength of the times; and to safeguard the Fatherland early and from afar. (5) To strengthen the building and rectification of a pure and comprehensively strong CPV and political system; to continue perfecting the overall organisational model of the political system; and to reaffirm the CPV’s leadership and ruling role and combativeness, as well as the State’s capability in development management and governance.

The system of guiding principles set out by the Party Central Committee in the draft Political Report is fairly complete, highly generalised, and coherently structured. It reflects fully, comprehensively the major issues our country is facing and serves as an ideological pointer - a compass for the CPV’s leadership in the years to come. In essence, these principles also address the issues arising in the course of implementing the two strategic tasks of the Vietnamese revolution in the new period. As it remains a draft, these guiding principles will, of course, be further supplemented and revised based on appropriate suggestions made by party members, officials, and organisations before being submitted to the 14^th National Congress for discussion and approval.

From observation, it appears that the majority of officials and party members have expressed strong agreement with the five guiding principles, as well as with the structure and order in which they are presented. The principles clearly reflect the CPV’s inherited and evolving theoretical thinking. In addition to the fundamental content that has long been established as the consistent foundation and principles of the CPV across many congresses, these guiding principles also include new, progressive elements, appropriately responding to the demands of the current era - a reasonable and necessary approach.

Specifically, as regards the first guiding principle, the draft continues reaffirming the steadfast defence and development of Marxism - Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought - the ideological foundation of the CPV. It also reaffirms that the goal of national independence and socialism is the only correct path chosen by our Party, President Ho Chi Minh, and our people throughout the course of the Vietnamese revolution. In any circumstances, we must never deviate from that goal and that path. This principle represents the idea of “wielding the constant to deal with the ever-changing” - a teaching from our beloved Uncle Ho - and in fact, our people have sacrificed so much for the independence of the nation. Therefore, this strategic, principled stance, reaffirmed in the draft, is essential. It is neither redundant nor outdated; rather, it serves as a timely reminder that we must not allow ourselves to lose our way in either thought or action. Similarly, the subsequent guiding principles all contain important reaffirmations. These include: socio-economic development as the central objective; Party building as the key task; cultural and human development as the foundation; and national defence and security consolidation as a crucial, routine duty (second guiding principle). Or, for example: “Inspire strong patriotism, self-reliance, and aspiration for national development; promote cultural and human values as internal resources and driving forces for development,...” (third guiding principle); “Promote the strength of the people, great national unity, and people’s hearts and minds posture; combine national strength with the strength of the times; safeguard the Fatherland early and from afar” (fourth guiding principle); “Strengthen the building and rectification of a pure and comprehensively strong CPV and political system; continue to perfect the overall organisational model of the political system…” (fifth guiding principle).

The above-mentioned things are major and vital issues that must continue to be grasped and executed in the new stage of national construction, development, and defence - an approach that is both spot on and necessary. At the same time, it is noteworthy that most officials and party members highly appreciate the fact that each guiding principle has been supplemented with new elements tailored to the current situation, conditions, and specific circumstances that the country is experiencing in this new period. Among them, in the second guiding principle, there is the addition of “environmental protection” as a central task, alongside socio-economic development - both of which had been identified in previous Party Congresses. This addition is entirely appropriate as environmental protection is becoming an increasingly important and urgent global issue and a shared responsibility of all nations, including Vietnam. We cannot remain on the sidelines in this crucial task. No country, regardless of its efforts, can resolve environmental issues alone; it requires solidarity and joint action among all nations. Vietnam, being one of the countries most affected by environmental disasters, understands this reality deeply. Hence, identifying environmental protection as a central task not only reflects our sense of responsibility but also conveys a clear message to other nations about our commitment and willingness to cooperate and contribute to safeguarding humanity’s “common home” - for the benefits of our own and the international community. This affirms that Vietnam does not merely pay lip service but always “matches words with deeds” in a substantive manner, striving to be an active, responsible member of the international community in addressing global issues. Another addition in this guiding principle is: “… stepping up foreign affairs and international integration as an essential, regular task”. In fact, it is not an entirely new point, as the Party has previously mentioned and consistently performed this work in past terms. However, the key point here is the clear emphasis on foreign affairs and international integration as a crucial, routine duty - alongside national defence and security consolidation. This means elevating foreign affairs and international integration to a higher level in the new context, ensuring that the entire CPV, people, and armed forces thoroughly grasp and effectively implement this task.

In the third guiding principle, one new element that has drawn much attention is the phrase: “To vigorously promote the comprehensive building and perfection of institutions to foster rapid and sustainable national development”. This emphasis is both important and timely - a correct and pertinent focus. For the country to achieve rapid and sustainable development, the foremost issue to be addressed is that of institutions. Institutions are the “key” to all matters; without institutional improvement, it will be impossible to resolve bottlenecks and obstacles on the path towards the future. Since national reunification in 1975 - and especially since the CPV’s 6^th National Congress in 1986 - the development of institutions has been a priority and has gradually improved over time, making significant contributions to the historic achievements of nearly 40 years of Doi Moi. However, institutional shortcomings and weaknesses have also been exposed, which have hindered national development. Therefore, it is entirely necessary to continue perfecting the institutional framework, particularly in the era of national breakthrough and advancement. There are also opinions suggesting that, for the sake of precision, the phrase should not include “building” but rather focus solely on “perfecting institutions”. Furthermore, it is suggested that institutions for both national development and national defence should be included, as these two strategic tasks are always closely intertwined. Thus, when referring to institutions, there should be consistency and comprehensiveness in the formulation of the principle. Following such revision, the content of this principle could be: “Continue to promote the perfection of institutions to foster rapid and sustainable national development and the firm safeguarding of the Fatherland, …”. Another point in this guiding principle that has attracted much interest is the emphasis on “attract and make the best use of talented individuals”. This is a long-standing tradition of our nation that must continue to be promoted. Some have suggested replacing the term “talented individuals” with “virtuous and talented individuals”, as this would make the principle more complete. The term “talented individuals” highlights only the aspect of talent, while the term “virtuous and talented individuals” encompasses both talent and virtue - with virtue being the foundation and talent being of critical importance. Using the term “virtuous and talented individuals” would more fully reflect the qualities required of leaders. Moreover, throughout history, our nation has always needed and possessed “virtuous and talented individuals”. The real issue is whether we have effective solutions and mechanisms in place to identify, attract, and make the most of them.  

With regard to the fourth guiding principle, many opinions have expressed strong agreement and appreciation for its emphasis on “… maintaining strategic autonomy while remaining flexible and adaptable in tactics to safeguard and uphold national interests to the highest degree…”. In essence, this is both a guiding principle and a consistent approach adopted by our CPV in foreign relations, particularly in handling sensitive, complex issues. Here, “strategic autonomy” is a fundamental principle that must be strictly observed, while “flexibility and adaptability” are essential in international relations. Only by combining these elements can we effectively ensure and protect the supreme interests of the nation and the people.

The fifth guiding principle covers a wide range of content, among which the point that has drawn particular attention from many officials and party members is: “strengthen the building and rectification of a pure and comprehensively strong Party and political system; continuing to perfect the overall organisational model of the political system”. In reality, this task has been actively, effectively carried out; however, certain shortcomings and limitations still exist. Therefore, reaffirming this principle is absolutely necessary. Yet, this remains a major issue - a key task of the entire Party and people - and it is fraught with many difficulties and complexities. The implementation process must, therefore, be resolute, methodical, and involve a combination of uniform solutions. In particular, it is essential to combine the building and rectification of the Party with the fight against corruption, wastefulness, and frauds, while promptly identifying and properly addressing emerging problems to avoid eroding the CPV’s credibility and the people’s trust, or causing negative impacts on political and social stability. At the same time, there must be effective measures to counter hostile forces’ sabotaging plots and acts, especially their attempts to instigate “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” within our ranks. Another aspect of this guiding principle that has received broad support is the emphasis on “reinforce the close-knit bond between the Party and the people, and promote socialist democracy”. Ours is a revolutionary Party wholeheartedly devoted to serving the country and the people - that is its fundamental mission. To fulfil this noble mission, the CPV must rely on the people, “regard the people as the root”, and constantly strengthen its close ties with the people. This is all the more important and urgent in today’s complex context, when hostile forces are making every effort to undermine our unity, with the primary aim of sowing division between the CPV and the people. Hence, reinforcing the close-knit bond between the Party and the people is crucial. “The Party’s will and the people’s hearts” must always be united in the CPV’s lines and decisions. The Party relies on the people and serves the people, while the people place their absolute trust in the CPV and wholeheartedly support its leadership - this unity is the decisive factor in every success of the Vietnamese revolution. To deepen this dialectical relationship, the CPV must promote the great strength of the people, expand democracy, and establish suitable mechanisms that allow the people to actively participate in Party activities - especially in Party building and in the fight against corruption, wastefulness, and frauds, with a view to contributing to building pure and strong Party organisations.

Establishing a sound system of guiding principles is of paramount importance. It serves as a compass for determining the goals, targets, and measures for the 2026 - 2030 period and beyond, contributing to successfully realising the strategic objectives and tasks of the revolution in the era of Vietnam’s national rise.

Maj. Gen. NGUYEN MANH HUNG