The fourth plenary meeting of the 12th Party Central Committee opened in Hanoi on October 9, with socio-economic situation in 2016 and plans for 2017 high on the agenda.
In his opening speech, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong asked the Party Central Committee to examine the Politburo reports and socio-economic performance to assess socio-economic development from January-September and forecast for the remainder of the year.
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| The opening session of the Party Central Committee's fourth plenum in Hanoi__Photo: VNA |
On the basis of set targets, the committee should lay out general goals and key targets for 2017, he said, adding that more focus should be given to the control of public and bad debts; restructuring the State budget, public investment, state-owned enterprises, and commercial banks; and improving the business environment.
The Party chief noted that as 2016 is the first year to adopt the Resolution of the 12th National Party Congress, the entire political system had built on past achievements and dealt with problems such as impacts from the slow recovery of the global economy, falling crude oil prices, prolonged drought in the south central region and the Central Highlands, and the serious environmental incident in the central region.
The Party leader emphasized the importance of renewing the growth model and improving growth quality, labor productivity and economic competitiveness.
According to him, a report and a plan submitted to the plenum presented an overview of the renewal of the growth model in combination with economic restructuring in the country. The documents also outline future orientations for major policies on this issue.
Trong requested the Party Central Committee examine and discuss the report and scheme, focusing on proposals regarding new and complicated problems.
The Party Secretary General stressed that the plenum should define which growth model the country should use and how it is different from the current model. A roadmap for the next 5-10 years should be drafted, with a vision to 2030, he said, with policies on science-technology, improving workforce quality, mobilizing social resources and measures to solve bad debt and weak banks.
On international economic integration, Trong acknowledged steps forwards such as the signing of many new-generation free trade agreements (FTAs), adding that the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community, the enforcement of FTAs with the Republic of Korea, the Eurasian Economic Union, and the upcoming ratification of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the FTA with the EU will bring opportunities along with challenges in various aspects.
He asked the Party Central Committee to assess the situation and pinpoint opportunities and challenges in integration and in national construction and defense for the next 5-10 years.
During integration, the committee should keep to the 12th Party Congress Resolution on global integration, the implementation of relevant resolutions and directives by the Party Central Committee and the Politburo, and the national defense strategy, towards issuing a Resolution on global economic integration that suits national, regional and global realities.
The resolution must clarify the guiding viewpoint for integration, along with policies and measures to address challenges and negative impacts from the international commitments, particularly the effects of opening the market on agriculture, farmers, small and medium-sized enterprises, or how commitments in labor-trade unions, liberalization of services market in financial-monetary, telecommunications, Internet and social media fields will affect national defense-security and socio-political stability.
On Party building, the Party leader emphasized that the Party’s leadership leads every success of the Vietnamese revolution; hence Party building work is vital.
To put the 12th Party Congress Resolution into action, the Party Central Committee has decided that the 4th plenum must issue a Resolution on building and strengthening the Party, curbing the degradation of political ideology, morality and lifestyle along with signs of “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” within the Party.
According to the Party General Secretary, the “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” phenomena are becoming complicated and causing unpredictable consequences. He asked the meeting to analyze the causes and put forward solutions.
The plenum will last through October 15.- (VNS/VLLF)
