Yan Jiehua: The CPV's Theoretical Exploration of Socialist Construction Since the Renovation
During the 35 years of Doi Moi [1], while leading the Vietnamese people in the practice of socialist construction, the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV, hereinafter "the Party") has continuously advanced its theoretical exploration of building socialism. Through long-term theoretical searching, the theory regarding the stages of development in the transition period to socialism has defined the historical orientation of Vietnam’s socialist renovation and provided the basic rationale for formulating Doi Moi policies; it serves as the theoretical starting point for Vietnam's socialist construction since the start of the reform era. Building Vietnamese socialist democracy is both the driving force for promoting the development of socialist construction and a fundamental struggle objective. The theory of building Vietnamese socialist democracy has set the value orientation and developmental goals for socialist construction since Doi Moi. Adhering to the leadership of the CPV is the basic principle and fundamental guarantee of Vietnam’s socialist construction; to persist in this leadership, the Party must continuously strengthen Party building. The continuous refinement of the theory of CPV Party building is a crucial component of the Party’s efforts to strengthen itself and its ongoing cognition of the laws governing Party building. Therefore, by analyzing the theory of development stages in the transition period, the theory of socialist democracy, and the theory of Party building, this article examines the theoretical explorations of the CPV in the process of combining the basic principles of Marxism with Vietnam's national conditions. It further analyzes the lessons and experiences therein, aiming to provide a certain reference for the theoretical explorations of other socialist countries.
I. Gradually Deepening the Understanding of the Theory of Development Stages in the Transition Period to Socialism in Vietnam
"[The Party proposes] the directions and tasks for socio-economic development for the five-year period 2021–2025; identifies the goals and directions to 2030 and the national development vision to 2045. These will be important milestones in the development process of our Party, our nation, and our country, serving to define the strategic direction for the country’s long-term development in the new period." This statement by Nguyen Phu Trong at the 13th National Congress of the CPV not only formulated specific development goals for the current term (2021–2025) but also envisioned goals for two important development milestones in 2030 and 2045. This marks the first time the CPV has explicitly proposed phased development goals for the future. Not only does this represent a significant departure from previous political reports, but it also reflects a new understanding of the theory of development stages in the transition period. The CPV has reformulated the criteria for dividing these stages and identified several crucial periods within the transition. This new understanding crystallizes the Party's reflections on its own stage of development and its position; it is the CPV’s answer to the question of Vietnam’s socialist development stages based on the creative application of the basic principles of Marxism to national practice. However, achieving a clear understanding of its own stage of development and historical orientation has been a lengthy process for the Party.
(1) The 6th Congress established the theory of the transition period to socialism
Based on the Marxist-Leninist doctrine of the transition period, the CPV determined that Vietnam is in the transition period to socialism. The 3rd, 4th, and 5th Congresses had already pointed out the basic characteristics and main tasks of this period, but due to impatience in the guiding ideology and a desire to bypass necessary steps, subjective errors occurred, leading to many difficulties in socio-economic development. On the basis of summarizing previous lessons, the 6th Congress profoundly recognized that "the passage from capitalism to socialism must go through a period of transition; this is an objective necessity. The length of this transition depends on the political, economic, and social conditions of each country. Since our country started from small-scale production and is bypassing the stage of capitalist development to move directly toward socialism, our transition period must necessarily be long and full of difficulties." Simultaneously, the CPV recognized that Vietnam's transition period must pass through multiple stages, and that Vietnam is currently in the initial stage of the transition period, with the basic task being to lay the necessary foundation for the further promotion of socialist industrialization. If the understanding of the transition period was immature during the 3rd, 4th, and 5th Congresses, then the series of affirmative statements at the 6th Congress marked the preliminary formation of the theory of the transition period to socialism in Vietnam, showing that the Party had basically identified its stage of development. The 1986 Doi Moi was launched precisely based on this historical orientation.
(2) The 7th through 12th Congresses gradually substantiated the stages of the transition period
From the 7th Congress onward, the CPV’s understanding of the theory of the transition period gradually deepened. The Platform for National Construction in the Period of Transition to Socialism [2] adopted at the 7th Congress pointed out: "The transition period to socialism in our country is a long-term process that will pass through many stages. The goal of the initial stage is: through comprehensive reform, the society reaches a firm and stable state, laying the foundation for rapid development in the next stage." The 6th Congress had fixed the historical orientation of the transition period; the 7th Congress further specified that Vietnam was in the initial stage of that transition—a sub-stage within the multiple phases. In summarizing the achievements of ten years of Doi Moi, the 8th Congress evaluated: "The task of the first stage of the transition period, which was to lay the foundation for industrialization, has been basically completed, providing the conditions to enter a new period of promoting national industrialization and modernization." This evaluation implied that by the 8th Congress in 1996, the initial stage had ended, and Vietnam had entered the second stage of the transition period—the new stage of promoting national industrialization and modernization. The goal of this new stage was for Vietnam to basically become an industrialized country by 2020. In 2011, the 11th Congress supplemented and revised the 1991 Platform, formulating the general objectives to be completed during the transition period and identifying eight basic directions to be implemented, along with eight sets of relationships [3] to be handled properly. The 12th Congress in 2016 further defined the specific steps for achieving national industrialization and modernization, noting that they follow a "three-step process: creating the prerequisites; promoting industrialization and modernization; and improving the quality of industrialization and modernization." Combining the statements from various Party Congresses, it can be understood that the stage of creating prerequisites was the initial stage of transition, and 1996–2020 was the stage of promoting national industrialization and modernization. Thus, from the 7th to the 12th Congresses, while inheriting and upholding Marxist-Leninist theory, the CPV developed it according to Vietnamese conditions, substantiating certain stages of the transition as "national industrialization and modernization" rather than using the vague term "multiple stages." However, whether these stages encompass the entirety of the transition period was a question not addressed by these congresses.
(3) The 13th Congress formulated criteria for dividing development stages and identified several important stages of the transition period
According to the original plan, 2020 was the year Vietnam was to conclude the stage of promoting national industrialization and modernization. However, whether that stage actually ended and the stage of "improving quality" began remained unanswered. Regarding the direction and tasks of the 13th term, Nguyen Phu Trong stated: "By mobilizing the will and strength of the entire nation and the unity of the 'Party's will and the people's heart' [4], we are determined to effectively implement the tasks and solutions proposed in the documents of the 13th Congress, so that our country enters a new stage of development." Additionally, on August 31, 2020, Nguyen Phu Trong published an article titled "Preparing well for the 13th Party Congress, pushing the country into a new stage of development." From these statements, it is clear that for Vietnam, the "new stage of development" was still in the future tense, not the present continuous.
The 13th Congress ceased using "national industrialization and modernization" as the criterion for development stages. Instead, "based on the principle of ensuring science and practice; by inheriting and supplementing according to the changes in each stage of national development; and simultaneously referring to the experience of other countries and common world development standards," it redefined the criteria for dividing development stages. Specifically, it determined important stages of the transition period through the level of comprehensive development, industrial level, and income level. Based on this standard, the CPV identified 2025, 2030, and 2045 as three critical development milestones: by 2025, Vietnam is to become a developing country with modern industry, having surpassed the lower-middle-income level; by 2030, a developing country with modern industry and upper-middle income; and by 2045, a developed, high-income country. This standard possesses distinct Vietnamese characteristics. According to Nguyen Viet Thong, Secretary-General of the CPV Central Theoretical Council: "A per capita annual income below $4,045 is considered lower-middle income or below; between $4,045 and $12,535 is upper-middle income; and exceeding $12,535 is high income. It is estimated that by 2025, per capita GDP will reach $4,700–$5,000. Therefore, our income will exceed the lower-middle level by 2025. By 2030, per capita GDP will reach $7,500... thus, by 2045, reaching high-income status is entirely possible." Under this standard, the "new stage of development" mentioned by Nguyen Phu Trong refers specifically to the period leading to 2025, when Vietnam will transcend the lower-middle-income threshold and enter a new phase of the transition period to socialism.
The 13th Congress's redefinition of these three stages based on "comprehensive development, industrial level, and income level" is considered by the Party to be more scientific and in line with reality. The determination of these milestones points the way forward for the Vietnamese people and stimulates their aspiration for national development. However, the 13th Congress did not mention whether these three stages constitute the entirety of the transition period or whether their conclusion signifies its end. This concerns the question of exactly how long Vietnam’s transition period will last. Regarding this, Phung Huu Phu, Vice Chairman of the CPV Central Theoretical Council, believes: "Exactly how long the transition period is and how many stages remain is not yet clear; this is a problem we will concentrate on clarifying in the future."
II. Continuously Promoting the Development of the Theory of Vietnamese Socialist Democracy
Building Vietnamese socialist democracy is a vital driving force and goal for socialist construction, relating to social stability and long-term national security. Over 35 years of Doi Moi, the Party has expanded its policy from the "people know, people discuss, people do, people check" [5] formula of the 6th Congress to the "people know, people discuss, people do, people check, people supervise, people enjoy" [6] formula of the 13th Congress. It has expanded the "major relationships" [3] to be handled properly from eight to nine, and then to ten at the 13th Congress by adding "realizing democracy, strengthening the legal system, and ensuring social discipline." Throughout the process of building a socialist rule-of-law state "of the people, by the people, and for the people" based on the "people-centered" [7] perspective, the Party has continuously reinforced the idea that the people are the center and the subject of the renovation, construction, and defense of the Fatherland. It has pursued the institutionalization of socialist democracy and formed a conceptual framework to guarantee and expand the people's rights to be informed, to participate, to express themselves, to supervise, and to enjoy the fruits of development, thereby driving the development of the theory of Vietnamese socialist democracy.
(1) Continuously reinforcing the idea that the people are the center and subject of the renovation, construction, and defense of the Fatherland
Attaching great importance to the status of the masses and giving play to their vital role is a consistent position of the CPV. During the revolutionary period, the CPV proposed the ideas that "the people are the masters" and "the people act as masters" to emphasize the exalted status and important role of the masses. Ho Chi Minh once pointed out: "Our country is a democratic country; the people occupy the highest status because the people are the masters." After the founding of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945, the CPV closely linked the Party, the people, and the cause of resistance and national construction, proposing the proposition that "all interests are for the people, and all rights belong to the people." In 1986, the 6th CPV National Congress proposed the idea of "taking the people as the root" and the slogan "the people know, the people discuss, the people do, and the people supervise" [8]. This was the CPV's summation of the "errors of subjectivism, voluntarism, and over-eagerness for quick results" prior to DOI MOI, and represented a new understanding of the status and role of the people. "Taking the people as the root" means that "in all activities of the Party, the Party must implement the idea of 'taking the people as the root,' and build and develop the working people's right to mastery. The Party has no purpose other than to strive for the happiness of the people." It affirms the protagonist status and important role of the masses in Vietnam's national construction and development, making the people's knowledge, participation, and inspection the basic means and requirements for their participation in socio-economic management. This was an expression of the CPV's attempt in the early stages of DOI MOI to establish a system in which the working people manage their own country, and it reflected the CPV's people-centered outlook of "taking the people as the root." In 2021, the 13th CPV National Congress proposed the idea that "the people are the center and the subject of the cause of reform, construction, and defense of the Fatherland," requiring the effective implementation of the policy that "the people know, the people discuss, the people do, the people inspect, the people supervise, and the people enjoy." This fits the developmental needs of Vietnamese society. Over the 35 years of DOI MOI, the rapid socio-economic development of Vietnam and the great achievements attained were created by the Vietnamese people under the leadership of the CPV. The people are the creative subject of the cause of reform, and they should also be the subject that enjoys the fruits of Vietnam's socio-economic development. Adding the "people enjoy" component to the policy is intended to allow the fruits of development to benefit all Vietnamese people more extensively and fairly, forming a pattern where everyone participates in construction and all the people share the results.
(2) Continuously practicing the pursuit of institutionalizing the construction of Vietnamese socialist democracy
In 1986, the 6th CPV National Congress emphasized the mechanism of "Party leadership, people as masters, and State management," and for the first time proposed the slogan "the people know, the people discuss, the people do, and the people supervise." However, this slogan remained on paper for a long time until the 8th CPV National Congress in 1996 changed the "slogan" into a "policy" and proposed "constructing a specific mechanism to implement the policy of 'the people know, the people discuss, the people do, and the people supervise,'" at which point the policy began to be gradually implemented. For instance, the Politburo of the CPV Central Committee issued Directive No. 30-CT/TW "On Establishing and Implementing a Democratic System at the Grassroots"; the Government issued Decree No. 79/2003/ND-CP "On the Regulations for Implementing Democracy at the Township Level," Decree No. 71/1998/ND-CP "On the Regulations for Implementing Democracy in the Activities of Agencies," Decree No. 87/2007/ND-CP "On Issuing the Regulations for Implementing Democracy in Joint-Stock Companies and Limited Liability Companies," and several other decrees regarding the implementation of democracy in other types of grassroots units; the Standing Committee of the National Assembly issued Ordinance No. 34/2007/PL/UBTVQH 11 "On Implementing Democracy in Townships, Wards, and Towns." From Politburo directives to Government decrees and then to National Assembly ordinances, clear regulations were established for grassroots institutions such as townships, wards, and towns regarding which matters must be made public to the people and which matters the people may directly participate in discussing, inspecting, and deciding. This formed a series of grassroots democracy systems, guaranteeing the people's direct exercise of democratic rights and basically realizing the requirement proposed at the 6th CPV National Congress that "people know, discuss, do, and supervise" should become a "daily model for the new society." After the 11th CPV National Congress in 2011, with the deepening of the reform of the National Assembly's oversight system, the supervision mechanisms of various social organizations and the people also advanced rapidly. The Secretariat of the CPV Central Committee successively issued Decision No. 99-QD/TW "On Regulations for the Work System of Party Activities in Grassroots Party Organizations and their Direct Superior Party Committees" and Decision No. 124-QD/TW "On Regulations for Monitoring by the Vietnam Fatherland Front, Socio-political Organizations, and the People regarding the Cultivation, Moral Conduct, and Lifestyle of Leaders, Key Cadres, and Party Members"; the Politburo issued Decision No. 217-QD/TW "On the Regulations for Supervision and Social Criticism by the Vietnam Fatherland Front and Socio-political Mass Organizations" [9] and Decision No. 218-QD/TW "On Regulations for the Vietnam Fatherland Front, Various Socio-political Mass Organizations, and the People to Offer Suggestions for Party Building and Government Construction." In 2021, the 13th CPV National Congress added "people supervise" to the "people know, discuss, do, and inspect" policy, and added "realizing democracy, strengthening the rule of law, and ensuring social discipline" as the tenth set of major relationships [10]. This was precisely a summation and affirmation of the continuous improvement of the people's supervision system. It can be foreseen that after the 13th National Congress, the CPV will introduce a series of systems and regulations to strengthen people's supervision and protect their various interests and rights.
(3) Continuously forming the concept of protecting and expanding the people's right to know, participate, express, supervise, and enjoy
The Vietnamese Constitution clearly stipulates: "The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a socialist state ruled by law (socialist law-governed state) of the people, from the people, and for the people." The "rule of law" (law-governed) aspect of the Vietnamese socialist state does not refer to the separation of three powers, but rather to power that belongs to, originates from, and serves the people in a centralized and unified manner. Here, "from the people" means the people are the subjects of empowerment; the people bestow power upon the state which is established, checked, and supervised by the people. State organs, according to their functions and tasks, implement power that belongs to, originates from, and serves the people through both a division of labor and coordination. State organs empowered by the people, in the spirit of serving the people, accepting their supervision, and being responsible to them, guarantee democracy through representative democracy and increasingly expand direct democracy so that the people may participate in state management and the inspection and supervision of power, preventing and stopping the degeneration of power. This has laid a solid foundation for protecting and expanding the people's right to know, participate, express, supervise, and enjoy. After more than 30 years of practice integrated into life, the policy of "the people know, the people discuss, the people do, and the people supervise" has already had a positive impact on the process of Vietnam's national construction and DOI MOI, and the people's right to know, participate, and express has been effectively guaranteed. The state's guarantee of the people's right to be masters include not only the rights to know, participate, and express, but also the rights to supervise and enjoy. According to the explanation in the Vietnamese Dictionary, "inspection" (检, jiǎn / kiểm tra) refers to the understanding, evaluation, and cognition of the actual situation, while "supervision" (监, jiān / giám sát) refers to tracking and checking whether things are carried out according to regulations. Therefore, while "inspection" and "supervision" overlap in connotation, they are not entirely consistent. Consequently, the 13th National Congress added "people supervise" to further protect the people's right to oversight, making "people supervise" an effective way for the Vietnamese people to participate in state management and to inspect and supervise power.
III. Gradually Improving the Content of the Theory of Party Building
The issue of Party building is not only one of the themes of the CPV’s political life but also concerns the overall situation of the cause of socialist construction in Vietnam. Over the 35 years of DOI MOI, through continuous exploration, the CPV has formulated several measures for Party building and condensed them into a relevant theory of Party building.
(1) Elevating the status of the construction of the political system within Party building, and taking the construction of the political system as an important component of the theory of Party building
The Vietnamese political system consists of three major parts: the Communist Party of Vietnam; the State (including the National Assembly, the Government, the Supreme People's Procuracy, and the Supreme People's Court); and the Vietnam Fatherland Front. Within the political system, the CPV holds the leading position; the State implements the functions of management and command; and the Vietnam Fatherland Front is the broadest alliance of socio-political organizations, representing the great unity of the whole nation, led by the Party, managed by the State, and participating in Party building and state management. The CPV’s leadership over the political system is mainly conducted through programs, strategies, propositions, and major policies. Starting from the 10th National Congress, the CPV began to incorporate the reform of the political system into the reform of the Party's leadership methods, proposing the idea that reforming the Party's leadership methods must be synchronized with reforming the organization and activities of the political system. The 11th and 12th National Congresses continued to emphasize that while reforming the Party's leadership methods over the political system and ensuring the Party's leading status, the initiative and creativity of each organization within the political system should be given full play. The 13th National Congress further elevated the status of the construction of the political system within Party building. This elevation is mainly reflected in the following: First, the construction of the political system was listed for the first time as a theme of the political report of a CPV National Congress. Previous congress themes mainly emphasized strengthening Party building, whereas this congress wrote "strengthening the building and rectification of the Party and building a clean and strong political system" into the congress theme as a whole, making it a focus that runs throughout the political report. Second, the construction of the political system is regarded as one of the decisive factors for the success of the cause of defending Vietnam, and "building a clean and comprehensively strong political system" is taken as an overall future development goal. This points out the direction of reform and construction tasks for the CPV's Party building in the future and is an intrinsic part of Vietnam becoming a developed socialist country by the middle of the 21st century. Third, "building a clean and strong political system" is regarded as one of the important contents of Party building, and a clear requirement has been proposed to "continue to vigorously reform the Party's leadership methods over the political system under new conditions." The CPV's elevation of the status of political system construction within Party building is the result of profound reflection on its own deficiencies in leading and governing capacity. It is a portrayal of the comprehensive strengthening of Party building based on learning from the Party-building experiences of other socialist countries. It is an inevitable requirement of the historical and practical logic of the CPV's comprehensive leadership over Vietnam's national construction. This has clarified the value orientation of the CPV's Party building and determined its institutional arrangements, but it also poses more arduous challenges for the future innovation of Vietnam's political system.
(2) Taking cadre construction as the "key of keys" for Party building, and gradually forming a "Five-in-One" pattern of Party building
In recent years, the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) has identified building the cadre contingent as the "key of keys" for Party building, gradually developing a concept of a "five-sphere integrated" Party building framework consisting of "politics, ideology, morality, organization, and cadres." First, the CPV proposed that "cadre work must truly be the 'key of keys,'" emphasizing the pivotal status and role of cadre development within Party building. The 13th CPV National Congress redefined the connotations and requirements of cadre building, referring not only to the general development of cadres but specifically including the development of strategic-level cadres and "top leaders" (leaders-in-chief). It required that "strategic-level cadres and top leaders must possess sufficient virtue, capability, and prestige; following the principle that the higher the position, the more exemplary the role must be, those in charge must fulfill their duties and set an example for cadres and Party members." Furthermore, it proposed concepts such as strengthening the authority and responsibility for managing leading cadres at the institutional level and implementing power supervision within cadre work. The CPV regards cadre building as a strategic task bearing upon the future and destiny of the CPV and Vietnamese socialism, initiating a New Era in the CPV’s cadre development.
Second, the CPV emphasized "building and rectifying a clean, strong Party in terms of politics, ideology, morality, organization, and cadres," gradually forming the "five-sphere integrated" conceptual framework for Party building. Previous Party congresses primarily emphasized the three aspects of politics, ideology, and cadres. The 12th CPV National Congress proposed the goal of "concentrated realization of building a Party that is pure and strong in politics, ideology, organization, and morality," while the 13th Congress elevated the status of cadre building, thus forming the five-sphere integrated framework.
Primarily, at the level of political building, the CPV continues to strengthen the "Five Persistences": namely, persisting in Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought; persisting in the goals of national independence and socialism; persisting in the Doi Moi [11] (Renovation) line; persisting in the basic principles of Party building; and persisting in the working-class nature of the Party. Next, at the level of ideological building, the CPV proposed "creatively developing Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh Thought," further intensifying theoretical innovation to provide a scientific theoretical basis for the Party and state's development lines, policies, and laws. At the same time, special emphasis was placed on "correctly guiding and timely handling ideological issues within the Party and society" to effectively guide public opinion and ensure ideological unity within the Party and high social consensus. Furthermore, at the level of moral building, new formulations such as "supplementing and perfecting revolutionary moral values," "establishing moral standards for cadre members," and "promoting a revolution in moral education" were introduced, establishing new concepts for the moral development of Party members and cadres. Finally, at the level of organizational building, acting on the principle of streamlining and high efficiency, the CPV proposed summarizing the experiences of pilot models for the organizational structure of the political system, innovating unreasonable and overlapping organizational structures, and continuously expanding pilot models to reduce redundancy. This aims to make the political system "lean and efficient," thereby strengthening the CPV's leadership capacity and its capacity for state governance.
After 35 years of exploration, the CPV has gradually clarified its own historical coordinates and answered the question of what stage of development Vietnam occupies in the transitional period toward socialism. However, exactly how long is this transitional period? When the Socialist Republic of Vietnam reaches its centenary in 2045 and becomes a high-income developed country, will that mean the transitional period has ended? If it has not ended, how many stages must the transitional period undergo? The Vietnamese theoretical community has not yet reached a unified answer to these questions. Phùng Hữu Phú, Vice Chairman of the Central Theoretical Council of the CPV, believes that "this is a sharp question, a problem that has troubled us for a long time and remains unresolved." Regarding the development goals reformulated at the 13th National Congress, some Vietnamese scholars have raised doubts, suggesting the CPV may have overestimated the domestic economic situation and development stage, leading to the formulation of relatively high targets that may be difficult to complete on schedule. Previously, the goal proposed by the CPV to basically become a modern-oriented industrial country by 2020 was not completed as scheduled.
After 35 years of Doi Moi, the CPV has continuously strengthened the building of democracy and answered several theoretical questions regarding the construction of the Vietnamese socialist democratic system. While theory in this area has seen some development, many theoretical issues remain unclear. Nguyễn Thế Trung, a member of the Central Theoretical Council, once pointed out that the relationship between democracy and discipline within democratic centralism is one of the issues requiring further clarification. On this issue, "some still believe that intra-Party democracy means members are free to speak on mass media and publicize their own views... exploring and debating any issue without respecting the principle of democratic centralism." After 35 years of construction, the theoretical content of CPV Party building has been continuously enriched, strengthening the Party’s leadership capacity, governing capacity, and the overall framework of Party building. Although the five-sphere integrated framework has initially taken shape, the five levels—politics, ideology, morality, cadres, and organization—still require continuous perfection. As mentioned at the 13th CPV National Congress: "Ideological work in some places and at some times has not received genuine attention from Party committees; it is neither timely nor convincing. Practical summarization and theoretical research have not received sufficient care, are not synchronized, and cannot meet needs; some new, difficult, and complex problems have not been clarified. Information and propaganda work regarding the Party's propositions and line, and state policies and laws, lacks variety in form and content, is infrequent and untimely, and cannot satisfy the needs and concerns of the people." These issues all require continued exploration.
(The author is a professor and Master’s supervisor at the School of Marxism, Shaanxi Normal University; holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Marxist Theory and Ideological and Political Education from Wuhan University; and a Doctorate in Historical Materialism and Dialectical Materialism from the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences.)