New Vietnamese leaders will face twin challenges

A NEW political leadership to be installed in Vietnam this month is facing the twin challenges of managing its foreign relations with the incoming Biden administration to ensure that Washington does not impose trade tariffs, and seeking greater US support to restrain Chinese aggressive behaviour in the South China Sea.

There are signs that Vietnam's process of selecting its topmost political leaders may yet spring a surprise and turn out to be competitive during this communist country's 13th National Party Congress to be held from Jan 26 till Feb 2, in contrast to fiery elections in liberal democracies. The highest-ranking leader, General-Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, is expected to step aside, allowing for a contest to take place between two other senior leaders, one of whom will take his place. While he is expected to exit gracefully, he may spring a surprise by seeking a third term.

There will be a customary Vietnamese-style quiet competition at the party congress which is held every five years. The selection process runs in stages: first, some 1,600 delegates representing different parts of the country will vote to select about 200 members to the Central Committee of the Vietnamese Communist Party.