On the occasion of the 79th anniversary of the National Day of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (September 2, 1945 - September 2, 2024), Comrade To Lam, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam , President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, wrote an article entitled "Digital transformation - An important driving force for developing productive forces and perfecting production relations, bringing the country into a new era". The General Secretary and President stated his strategic vision: "Our country is facing a new opportunity, which is both an opportunity and a challenge on the path of development. Under the leadership of the Party, with the consensus and joint efforts of the entire Party, the entire people and the entire political system, we will definitely successfully carry out the digital transformation revolution, creating a breakthrough in developing productive forces and perfecting production relations, bringing our country and our people to a new era, an era of progress, civilization and modernity" (1). .
In his closing speech at the 10th Central Conference of the 13th tenure on September 23, 2024, General Secretary To Lam stated: “The Central Committee unanimously assessed: With the position and strength accumulated after 40 years of renovation, with the consensus and joint efforts of the entire Party, the entire people and the entire army, with new opportunities and advantages, under the wise leadership of the Party, we have gathered all the necessary conditions and the documents of the 14th Congress must set out strategic directions, tasks and important solutions to liberate all productive forces, maximize internal resources, take advantage of external resources, take internal resources, human resources as the foundation, science - technology and innovation as breakthroughs to bring the country into a new era, the era of the Vietnamese nation's rise” (2) .
On October 31, 2024, at the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, General Secretary To Lam discussed some contents about the new era, the era of national rise with students of the Training and Updating Knowledge and Skills Class for Cadres Planning for Members of the 14th Party Central Committee (3rd Class), for the first time the Party leaders concretized many basic and urgent issues related to the era of rise of the Vietnamese nation. The General Secretary pointed out the purpose and objectives: “The destination of the era of rising up is a rich country, a strong country, a socialist society, standing shoulder to shoulder with the great powers of the five continents. The top priority in the new era is to successfully implement the strategic goals by 2030, Vietnam will become a developing country with modern industry and high average income; by 2045 it will become a developed socialist country with high income; strongly arousing national spirit, spirit of self-reliance, self-confidence, self-reliance, national pride, aspiration for national development; closely combining national strength with the strength of the times” (3) .
The General Secretary requested the cadres to fully understand the preparation of conditions to enter the era of national development, first of all, the great achievements gained after 40 years of implementing the renovation process under the leadership of the Party, helping Vietnam accumulate position and strength for breakthrough development in the next stage; is an important strategic opportunity created in the period of epochal change in the world today; is the will of self-reliance, self-control, self-confidence, self-reliance, national pride, mobilizing the strength of the entire people combined with the strength of the times, is the time when the Party's will blends with the people's heart in the aspiration to build a prosperous and happy country, soon successfully build socialism, stand shoulder to shoulder with the world powers...
The General Secretary clearly stated the strategic orientation to bring the country into a new era, an era of national advancement: improving the Party's leadership method; strengthening the Party's character in building and perfecting a socialist rule-of-law state of the people, by the people, and for the people; streamlining the apparatus for effective and efficient operation; promoting digital transformation; actively fighting waste; building a contingent of qualified and qualified cadres; developing the economy, repelling the risk of falling behind and the middle-income trap.
Up to now, it can be summarized that the basic goal of the era of the Vietnamese nation's rise is to strive by the middle of the 21st century for Vietnam to become a developed country with rich people, strong country, democracy, fairness, and civilization; with a highly developed economy based on productive forces in a new, modern context and appropriate progressive production relations; with modern industrial production based on science - technology, innovation and digital transformation; people enjoy prosperity and happiness; the country deeply integrates internationally, increasing its position, role and prestige in the international arena; has enough strength and capacity to master all types of modern wars, protecting the Fatherland early and from afar.
The valuable foundation and premise from the struggle for national independence and freedom
For Vietnam, a new turning point was opened in 1945. The Platform for National Construction in the Transitional Period to Socialism (Supplemented and Developed in 2011) affirmed: “The victory of the August Revolution in 1945, smashed the colonial and feudal domination, established the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, and brought our nation into an era of independence and freedom”. From a colony under French colonial rule, a backward feudal regime in the East, Vietnam declared to the world its position as an independent, sovereign nation, a regime of the working people. Leader Ho Chi Minh depicted the great victory of the nation in the Declaration of Independence: “Our people have broken the colonial chains of nearly a hundred years to build an independent Vietnam. Our people have also overthrown the monarchy of several decades to establish a democratic republic”.
To maintain independence and freedom, the Vietnamese army and people had to wage protracted resistance wars, fight arduously, make great sacrifices and achieve glorious victories against the colonialist, imperialist and international reactionary forces; at the same time, they had to strive to build socialism in the North. By the spring of 1975, the Ho Chi Minh campaign was completely victorious, completely liberating the South, unifying the country, and the whole country moving towards socialism. Vietnam's victory not only had great significance for the nation and people, but also had a noble epochal stature, an era of peace, national independence, democracy and socialism. Vietnam had established a great feat of the 20th century, an event of great international importance and profound epochal significance; becoming a pioneer nation in the cause of fighting against colonialism and imperialism of the peoples of the world and of progressive humanity; representing civilization in defeating brutality; demonstrating the conscience and spirit of the times (4) . This is the foundation and valuable premise for the country to enter new glorious pages of history, including the era of national growth.
The basis and premise are directly from the period of innovation and development.
The 6th National Congress of the Party (1986) initiated the policy and immediately after that the national renovation process to overcome the socio-economic crisis and move the country forward. With the courage to look straight at the truth, respect objective laws, closely follow specific conditions, a series of correct and appropriate policies and strategies for economic, social, cultural, educational, scientific, defense, security, foreign affairs development... were issued and put into practice. Thanks to that, after only 10 years (1986 - 1996), Vietnam overcame the crisis and entered a new period of development, promoting industrialization and modernization right in the context of the collapse of the socialist regime in the Soviet Union and some Eastern European countries. By 2010, with an average income per capita exceeding 1,000 USD/year, Vietnam emerged from underdevelopment and entered the list of middle-income countries in the world.
Up to now, after nearly 40 years of implementing the renovation process, Vietnam has achieved many great achievements. The economic scale in 2024 will reach nearly 450 billion USD, an increase of more than 96 times compared to 1986; per capita income will reach over 4,600 USD. Vietnam is one of the 40 economies with the largest GDP in the world; one of the 20 foreign trade markets, reaching a record 783 billion USD in 2024 and attracting the largest foreign investment globally; the leading country in terms of Human Development Index (HDI), innovation... in the group of countries with the same level of economic development; having diplomatic relations with 194 countries; building 30 comprehensive partnerships, strategic partnerships, including 12 comprehensive strategic partnerships with all major powers in the world and the region; completing the Millennium Development Goals early; is a friend, a trusted partner and an active, proactive member of the international community... It is forecasted that Vietnam's GDP will increase from 450 billion USD in 2024 to 676 billion USD in 2029 and continue to 1,410 billion USD in 2039, ranking 25th in the world (5) .
Never before has the country had the foundation, potential, position and international prestige as it does today (6) . This is the foundation and direct premise for Vietnam to enter the era of rising up in the new era.
New era, era of national rise
The achievements of the era of independence and freedom and the great achievements of historical significance of the era of innovation and development create a solid foundation for Vietnam to enter a new era, an era of national development. The 13th National Party Congress (2021) set the goal of achieving by 2045, Vietnam will become a developed, high-income country.
The goal of Vietnam becoming a developed, high-income country by 2045 is well-founded. It is the national aggregate strength created in previous periods, especially during the renovation process. It is the experience of the leading countries, which, within just 2-3 decades of successful industrialization, all became developed countries. It is the new opportunity brought by the turning point of the world's movement for the following countries to reach the finish line early. It is the great spiritual motivation of more than 100 million Vietnamese people determined to realize President Ho Chi Minh's aspiration: to build the country to be "more and more dignified, more beautiful", "on par with the world powers"...
Urgent strategy, paving the way
The vision and goals of the nation's rise have become clear, the issue must be promptly and urgently formulated, paved the way and implemented effectively:
First of all, the strategy of industrialization and modernization of the country in the context of the emergence of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the increasingly strong globalization process. Industrialization is the core content of development and modernization today, determining the level of development of each nation; at the same time, creating the material and technical foundation for socialism. The classics of Marxism-Leninism have affirmed that socialism can only win, ultimately, through labor productivity and the level of socialization of productive forces, both created by industrialization.
Due to many reasons, Vietnam did not have the conditions to participate in the three previous industrial revolutions; therefore, the current industrialization and modernization policy must integrate and meet the diverse requirements of the three past levels of industrial production: mechanization, electrification and computerization; at the same time, it must be suitable for the digitalization level of modern industrial production. On the other hand, today there are no longer many boundaries or differences between the domestic market and the international market. Therefore, the industrialization models of import substitution, export orientation or a mixture of both export orientation and import substitution are no longer suitable. Vietnam needs to plan the right strategy, in which it must clarify the appropriate industrialization and modernization model, identifying the spearhead of the country's industrialization.
Second, the strategy for developing science, technology and innovation. Previously, the Party had determined the path of simultaneously carrying out three revolutions, in which the scientific and technological revolution was the key. Today, developing science, technology and innovation must be the top priority. No country can become a developed country without high-level science, technology and innovation. Vietnam must have a number of spearheads in science and technology, especially applied science and innovation capacity. Recognizing the importance of science, technology and innovation for the country's development, on December 22, 2024, Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW of the Politburo, "On breakthroughs in science, technology, innovation and national digital transformation" was issued. Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW has pointed out the strategic direction and has been widely agreed upon by cadres, party members, scientists, and the domestic and foreign business community, considering it as a "contract 10" in the field of science and technology (7) .
Third, the strategy of rapid and sustainable development. Rapid development requires high speed in economic growth, increased production and business, creating conditions to narrow the development gap with countries in the region and the world. Sustainable development requires high efficiency and labor productivity, without increasing investment, raw materials, labor, etc., but still rapidly increasing output and quality; not sacrificing fairness, social progress, and ecological environment for pure economic growth. Both rapid development and sustainable development require separate policies and guidelines, as well as the combination of policies and guidelines on rapid development and sustainable development in a unified and harmonious whole.
Fourth, waste prevention and control strategy. Resource waste prevention and control is the most urgent requirement. In nearly 40 years of implementing the renovation process, Vietnam has achieved quite high economic growth, even during the global economic recession and global pandemic. However, the driving force for growth in Vietnam is still mainly increased investment and labor. Vietnam's investment efficiency index (ICOR), although there has been a change, is still high in global comparison: in 2022 it is 5.13 points; in 2023 it will jump to 6.0 points, equivalent to the years from 2011 to 2019, which is about 3 times larger than that of developing countries. The ratio between total development investment capital and GDP scale is higher than the ratio between asset accumulation and GDP scale; Low total factor productivity (TFP) has existed for many years, causing many risks to some macroeconomic balances (8) . The transition from an extensive growth model to an intensive growth model has not achieved the set goals and requirements, consuming a large amount of investment resources of the whole society. This weakness is due to the backward starting point of the production sector and also due to the slow breakthrough in development institutions, and needs to be promptly resolved.
There is waste caused by subjective factors, such as inefficient use of the budget and public assets; lavish and luxurious consumption; group interests in investment allocation; bureaucracy, paperwork, administrative procedures; the state of shirking responsibility in performing public duties... which is wasting a huge amount of resources, undermining the trust of investors, businesses and people. This waste is truly an "internal enemy" in the cause of building and defending the socialist Fatherland.
Fifth, the strategy of building the Communist Party of Vietnam in the era of national development. Historical reality clearly demonstrates the law of the Party's correct leadership as the leading factor deciding all victories of the Vietnamese revolution from 1930 to the present.
During the renovation period, in addition to the undeniable results of Party building and rectification, there is still a state of political, ideological, moral, lifestyle and working style degradation among a number of cadres and Party members. Therefore, stopping and overcoming this degradation is the number one goal of the strategy to build the Communist Party of Vietnam to be increasingly clean and strong, worthy of being the only ruling Party, leading the working class, working people and the entire nation in the era of national development.
The second goal of the strategy is to ensure that the Communist Party of Vietnam is truly the political and ideological vanguard leading the people firmly on the path of national independence and socialism; truly representing the nation's intelligence.
The third goal is to ensure that the Communist Party of Vietnam is truly “moral and civilized” as leader Ho Chi Minh often emphasized. Every party organization, every cadre, every party member, especially the team of leaders and managers, must be an example of diligence, thrift, integrity, impartiality, and selflessness so that the entire Party is worthy of the familiar and glorious title: Our Party, the Party of the Vietnamese people, has absolute trust, fights bravely, and is ready to sacrifice under the red hammer and sickle flag of the revolution.
Looking back at the thousands of years of history of the Vietnamese people, most recently the revolutionary history under the leadership of the Party since 1930, the entire Party and people are extremely proud of the glorious victories, including many miracles of rising up, turning the seemingly impossible into possible. Ahead, there are many advantages, opportunities as well as difficulties and challenges intertwined, but a new era has opened, the era of rising up of the Vietnamese people to the heights of a developed nation, firmly on the path of national independence and socialism./.
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(1) Prof. Dr. To Lam: "Digital transformation - an important driving force for developing productive forces, perfecting production relations, bringing the country into a new era", Communist Magazine , No. 1045, September 2024, p. 7
(2) See: “Closing speech of the 10th Conference of the 13th Party Central Committee”, Communist Magazine , No. 1046, September 2024, p. 13
(3) See: Prof. Dr. To Lam: "Some basic perceptions about the new era, the era of national rise", Communist Magazine, No. 1050, November 2024, p. 3
(4) Complete Party Documents , National Political Publishing House Truth, Hanoi, 2004, vol. 37, p. 457
(5) See: “10 outstanding socio-economic milestones in 2024”, Vietnam Economic Electronic Magazine , December 30, 2024, https://vneconomy.vn/10-dau-an-noi-bat-kinh-te-xa-hoi-nam-2024.htm
(6) Documents of the 13th National Congress of Delegates, National Political Publishing House Truth, Hanoi, 2021, vol. 1, p. 104
(7) See: Prof. Dr. To Lam: "The entire Party, the entire people, and the entire army are united, creative, and determined to successfully carry out the revolution of scientific and technological development, innovation, and digital transformation to realize the nation's aspirations for strength and prosperity", Electronic Communist Magazine, January 13, 2025
(8) See: Minh Nhung: "Identifying economic growth from the perspective of speed and quality", Electronic Investment Newspaper , March 19, 2024, https://baodautu.vn/nhan-dien-tang-truong-kinh-te-duoi-goc-nhin-toc-do-va-chat-luong-d210914.html
Source: https://tapchicongsan.org.vn/web/guest/nghien-cu/-/2018/1089002/ky-nguyen-vuon-minh-cua-viet-nam-trong-thoi-dai-moi--muc-tieu-va-chien-luoc-cap-bach.aspx
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