General Secretary and President To Lam affirmed: Vietnam and China are two neighboring countries with long-standing close relations. Currently, the two countries are implementing substantive cooperation in many important fields. Vietnam's policy is to continue developing good relations with China, because China possesses all the elements of a priority partner in Vietnam's foreign policy: a neighboring country, an important partner, and a country with many common interests and similarities with Vietnam. Maintaining peaceful, stable, developing, and responsible cooperation with China not only benefits both countries but also makes an important contribution to regional peace and stability.

General Secretary and President To Lam answers questions from a Reuters reporter.

Regarding the South China Sea issue, the General Secretary and President affirmed Vietnam's clear and consistent stance. Vietnam resolutely defends its sovereignty and territorial integrity and advocates for the peaceful resolution of disputes based on international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982). Maintaining and developing good relations with China and addressing issues in the South China Sea are not contradictory. If good relations and effective dialogue are maintained, all disagreements can be resolved. Conversely, the positive development of bilateral relations also creates a favorable foundation for dialogue. Therefore, maintaining good relations with China, protecting sovereignty, and resolving issues in the South China Sea are complementary, not mutually exclusive, goals.

Regarding US-China relations, competition between major powers is an objective reality. Vietnam does not approach relations with major powers through a security lens, nor does it choose sides. Vietnam maintains good relations with major powers to jointly address important and essential issues. Vietnam's policy is not to cooperate with one country to harm or create difficulties for another. Therefore, Vietnam has maintained and continues to maintain good relations with both the United States and China, benefiting all parties while contributing to regional peace and stability.

Responding to a question about Vietnam's 10% GDP growth target, General Secretary and President To Lam stated: Vietnam's aspiration for development is a shared aspiration of the entire nation. Vietnam has clearly defined its goal: to become a developed, high-income country by 2045. This goal was set many years ago and has been consistently affirmed, including in the Political Report of the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

According to General Secretary and President To Lam, in order to become a developed, high-income country by 2045, international experience and development laws show that Vietnam needs to maintain a double-digit growth rate, i.e., at least 10% or more. This is an issue that has been thoroughly researched and considered. Vietnam is fully aware that this is an ambitious and very challenging goal. However, due to its determination to achieve this goal, Vietnam has been implementing many important practical solutions.

What gives Vietnam confidence is the very high determination of the entire political system: the strong commitment of the Party and the State, the broad consensus of the people, as well as the active participation of the business community, manufacturers, the private sector, workers, and farmers. Vietnam has a large consensus throughout society on this ambitious goal.

Vietnam has implemented many new measures and is building a new development and growth model in the current period – a model based on high-quality human resources, the strength of the Vietnamese people, self-reliance, innovative thinking, along with science and technology, innovation, and digital transformation. Vietnam has carefully studied the development experiences of successful countries and translated those lessons into specific policies.

At the same time, the institutional system is being reviewed, bottlenecks are being identified, and necessary reforms are being implemented to remove barriers to growth, better serving long-term development goals.

In fact, the results achieved in 2025 and especially in the first six months of 2026 show that, although there are still difficulties and certain adjustments are needed, the core objectives remain within reach. This further strengthens confidence.

Regarding the question of whether Vietnam will adjust its growth target, the General Secretary and President clearly affirmed: Vietnam will not adjust this target downwards. Vietnam remains steadfast not only in its growth target for 2026 but also in maintaining that growth trajectory in the following years, because only in this way can it achieve the development milestones that the country has set.

    Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/chinh-polit/tin-news/viet-nam-maintains-good-relations-with-big-countries-1042061