Hanoi eyes growth surge, shift toward hi- tech devt

Having sidestepped the worst of the coronavirus pandemic so far, Vietnam aims to rev up its economy over the next five years, trusting on its customtooled mix of free trade deals, privatization and tight COVID- 19 curbs.

Armed with a raft of free trade deals envied by regional peers and increasingly luring factories away from China, the ruling Communist Party on Monday formally approved ambitions to raise growth beyond an annual 6 percent in the prepandemic era to 6.5- 7.0 percent for the 2021- 25 period.

In an economic development blueprint confirmed at its five- yearly congress, it said it would boost its growing role as a key manufacturing hub for global giants like Samsung Electronics Co and Intel Corp. At the same time, the Party is targeting raising the country’s profile beyond a low- cost labor destination to a center for science and technology.

With more than a dozen free trade agreements now under its belt, Vietnam aims to expand and diversify export markets, the Party said.

The country has reaped the benefit of China and the US, its largest trading partners, being locked in a bitter trade war that has seen Western manufacturers look to move more and more of their production out of China – with Vietnam a popular choice.

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong – reselected to serve a rare third term as Party chief on Sunday – said Vietnam would aim to be a fully developed country by 2045, and that an ongoing crackdown on corruption across Party ranks would continue.