14th National Party Congress: Japanese media highlight Vietnam’s growth targets

Tokyo – Japanese media outlets on January 20 ran extensive coverage of the opening of the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), underscoring the political significance of the event and the country’s ambitious economic growth targets for the next five years.

Reports on the congress particularly focused on Vietnam’s pursuit of high economic growth in the coming five-year period – one of the key issues discussed and decided at the congress.

In an article published by Kyodo News, the 14th National Congress of the CPV was described as a major political event held every five years. It brings together more than 1,500 delegates to deliberate on the country’s strategic orientations in politics, diplomacy and economic development. The article noted that the congress will elect the Party Central Committee, whose members will later select the Politburo and the General Secretary.

Kyodo stressed that Vietnam attaches great importance to setting long-term economic development goals alongside the implementation of a comprehensive foreign policy.

Nikkei newspaper highlighted the congress as a milestone political event, reporting that Vietnam has set a target of achieving annual economic growth of at least 10% over the next five years. The article also noted that the country will mark the 100th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam in 2030, calling the coming five years a crucial period in Vietnam’s journey toward establishing itself as a developed nation in the future.

Meanwhile, Mainichi Shimbun pointed out Vietnam’s long-term vision of becoming a developed and high-income country by 2045. With an export-driven economy, its gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2025 is estimated at 8.02%, and the country is aiming for a growth rate of 10% in 2026. Although these are challenging targets, the newspaper quoted Party General Secretary To Lam as emphasising the need for fundamental reforms to the economic growth model.

Also reporting on Vietnam’s growth prospects, Sankei Shimbun analysed that the Vietnamese economy is now in a strong expansion phase, with GDP growth reaching 7.09% in 2024 compared to the previous year and 8.02% in 2025. Forecasting robust growth in 2026, the newspaper wrote that Vietnam has been actively engaging with the US on trade and tariff issues to mitigate potential negative impacts on its economy while continuing to roll out solutions to spur growth this year.

The article concluded that Vietnam is prioritising economic development while steadfastly pursuing the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation and diversification of external relations, and harmonisation of its external ties, particularly with major powers, neighbouring countries and key partners.