Vietnam’s top leader, To Lam, is set to visit China next week, marking his inaugural international trip since assuming the position of general secretary of the ruling Communist Party in August. This visit underscores the robust ties between the two communist neighbors, known for their strong economic and trade relationships, despite occasional tensions over disputed boundaries in the energy-rich South China Sea.
Lam, who also holds the post of state president, is scheduled to arrive in China on August 18. He will engage in meetings with President Xi Jinping and other Chinese officials over the subsequent two days, according to two Vietnamese officials and a Hanoi-based diplomat. The trip has not yet been formally announced, and both the Chinese and Vietnamese foreign ministries have not responded to requests for comment.
As state president since May, Lam, 67, has already undertaken visits to Laos and Cambodia, adhering to the practices of his predecessors. He also met with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin during the latter’s visit to Hanoi in June and had a phone conversation with him last week following his appointment as party head. This upcoming trip to China will be his first foreign engagement since assuming the role of party chief on August 3, succeeding the late general secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, who passed away two weeks prior.
Vietnam’s political system does not feature a paramount leader, but the late Trong had consolidated power in the hands of the party head. Following Lam’s appointment as party chief, both China’s Xi and US President Joe Biden extended their congratulations. Some investors in the regional industrial hub see Lam’s ascension to the top position as a potential catalyst for ending recent political turbulence that has hampered projects and reforms.
Lam, a former minister of public security and general, may relinquish the presidency in the coming months, potentially coinciding with the parliamentary session in October. Two officials suggested that he would attend the annual United Nations General Assembly in September as Vietnam’s president, during which he is expected to meet with President Biden.
