Int’l media spotlight Vietnam’s achievements under Party chief’s leadership

International media have reported the passing of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong on recent days and also reviewed milestones of his career.

In a program broadcast live last Friday of Channel One, politician and former member of the State Duma of Russia Vyacheslav Nikonov expressed deep condolences to the Party, State, and people of Vietnam.

He described the Party chief as a big friend of Russia, stressing that Trong was truly a great friend of Russia who had substantial influence on the successful development of bilateral relations.

The Komsomol Truth newspaper said under General Secretary Trong’s leadership, Vietnam obtained the biggest achievements in economic, political, and social affairs and maintained stable GDP growth.

Sharing the view, the media in Japan said Vietnam’s most outstanding achievement during Trong’s leadership was high economic growth, the increased stature in the international arena, and the comprehensive, multidirectional, and balanced foreign policy in a polarized world.

The NHK television station along with Nikkei Asia and Yomiuri newspapers perceived that the Party leader carried out comprehensive diplomacy to consolidate and maintained Vietnam’s good relations with the U.S., China, Japan, Russia, and other countries while promoting multidirectional diplomacy even when the international community is increasingly polarized.

The Asahi newspaper noted that under Trong’s leadership, Vietnam positioned its ties with Vietnam as comprehensive strategic partnership. Trade and the sending of technical interns have been intensified. He visited Japan and met then Prime Minister Abe Shinzo in 2015.

Nikkei Asia, Yomiuri, and Asahi added that the Party leader launched a thorough crackdown on corruption which is a historic move in the fast-growing economy and gains public support, thereby strengthening the Party’s centrality.

Nikkei Asia reported that Geneal Secretary Trong was known more widely through his academic statements, including the one that socialism unceasingly improves the quality of people’s material and spiritual lives as he said in a 2022 speech. This newspaper also named some of its famous books.

In terms of economy, it said, Vietnam secured fast growth under his leadership thanks to its participation in free trade agreements and other measures. Vietnam has attracted foreign manufacturers by taking such measures as joining in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

Global enterprises, from tech giant Apple of the U.S. to Chinese electric vehicle producer BYD, Japanese apparel retailer Uniqlo, and others are expanding their supply chains in Vietnam, a market emerging as a centre of garment and tech devices.

In the U.S., many large newspapers have run articles about his leadership career over the last 13 years.

The Washington Post wrote that Trong led Vietnam to a period of stronger economic opening, and his anti-corruption drive attempted to burnish public trust in the Party and its stewardship of Vietnam’s economy, one of the most dynamic in the region, with sectors that include a growing start-up culture.

He was seen as an artful practitioner of Vietnam’s “bamboo diplomacy” as the country navigates ties with its most important economic partners, China and the U.S., while also building bonds with nations such as India and Russia, according to the newspaper.

The New York Times said the Party chief was viewed as a frugal leader. He oversaw one of Asia’s fastest-growing economies and raised Vietnam’s prestige on the international stage.