This was shared by Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the Party Central Committee (PCC)’s Commission for Communications, Education and Mass Mobilisation, during an interview with a Nhan Dan Newspaper reporter regarding new highlights in the Draft Documents submitted to the 14th National Party Congress.
Q: What is the significance of adding the “theory on the renewal pathway” to the Party’s ideological foundation in the Draft Political Report?
A: The Party’s ideological foundation serves as the compass for all actions, playing a strategic guiding role throughout the entire revolutionary leadership process. With Marxism–Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s Thought as its ideological foundation, the Party has led the Vietnamese revolution through hardships and challenges, achieving great accomplishments.
Faced with new requirements and circumstances, the Draft Documents submitted to the 14th National Congress have added the “theory on the renewal pathway” to the Party’s ideological foundation. This is a development of historical significance, reflecting a breakthrough in theoretical thinking, the Party’s strengthened capacity for practical summarisation, and its steadfast determination in self-renewal. The theory on the renewal pathway is the outcome of creatively applying, developing, and concretising Marxism–Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s Thought to Viet Nam’s specific conditions.
Incorporating the “theory on the renewal pathway” into the Party’s ideological foundation is of great significance as it reaffirms the enduring vitality of Marxism–Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s Thought in the new context, while demonstrating the Party’s continuous effort to inherit, supplement, and creatively develop theory - ensuring a close linkage between theory and practice. Alongside Marxism–Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s Thought, the “theory on the renewal pathway” forms a unified ideological foundation and serves as the guiding principle for all Party leadership activities in realising national aspirations, long-term visions, and strategic directions, thereby creating new milestones in the era of national rise.
Q: Could you explain the basis for incorporating the “theory on the renewal pathway” into the Party’s ideological foundation?
A: The Draft Documents submitted to the 14th National Congress add the “theory on the renewal pathway” to the Party’s ideological foundation. This addition is based on a comprehensive, scientific, and objective theoretical and practical foundation.
First, the “theory on the renewal pathway” is the synthesis and abstraction of the values accumulated from creatively applying and developing Marxism–Leninism to suit Viet Nam’s new historical conditions. In leading the revolution, the Party has always adhered to the scientific and revolutionary nature of Marxism–Leninism, without being dogmatic or mechanical. The “theory on the renewal pathway” also represents a profound development of Ho Chi Minh’s Thought, tailoured to the characteristics, conditions, and tasks of Viet Nam’s revolution in the new era. By incorporating this theory into the Party’s ideological foundation, our Party demonstrates not only steadfastness and loyalty but also proactivity in researching and distilling theory from the practical application of Marxism–Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s Thought. This forms a close linkage among the three components—Marxism–Leninism, Ho Chi Minh’s Thought, and the theory on the renewal pathway—uniting them into the Party’s ideological foundation.
In practical terms, the renewal cause led by the Party over the past 40 years has achieved historic and substantial accomplishments across all sectors. Today, Viet Nam ranks as the fourth-largest economy in ASEAN and 32nd in the world, with an estimated per capita income of approximately 5,000 USD in 2025, more than 33 times higher than in 1986. Life expectancy has risen from 62 years in 1990 to about 74.7 years in 2025. Viet Nam’s Human Development Index places the country in the upper-middle range globally. According to the United Nations’ 2025 World Happiness Report, Viet Nam climbed eight places compared to 2024, ranking 46th out of 143 countries. The material and spiritual well-being of the people has continuously improved.
Over nearly four decades, under the Party’s leadership, Viet Nam has transformed from an underdeveloped, centrally planned, bureaucratic, subsidised, and stagnant economy into a middle-income country deeply integrated into the global economy. The international community recognises Viet Nam as a shining example of economic growth and political stability, a nation of peace, cooperation, and development.
These proud achievements are not the result of luck. They stem from the Party’s steadfast loyalty to, and creative application of, Marxism–Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s Thought in Viet Nam’s practical context. Incorporating the “theory on the renewal pathway” into the Party’s ideological foundation, based on a comprehensive summary of nearly 40 years of renovation led by the Party, the people, and the entire armed forces, is therefore an objective and inevitable step.
Q: Could you explain what is meant by the “theory on the renewal pathway”?
A: The “theory on the renewal pathway” is the result of the Party’s faithful and creative application of Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s Thought under the conditions of Viet Nam’s transitional period toward socialism, reflecting the unity between theory and practice. This theory has been formed and continuously refined over nearly 40 years, embodying the intellectual value of the entire Party and nation, tested, verified, and proven through the country’s development in practice.
The “theory of the renewal pathway” is a comprehensive, general, and condensed guiding system of thought, including key viewpoints such as: the theory of the socialist model and the path to socialism in Viet Nam; the theory of a socialist-oriented market economy; the theory of a socialist rule-of-law state by the people, for the people; the theory of great national unity; the theory of culture and human development; the theory of building a strong defence and security system, actively integrating internationally while protecting the Fatherland early and proactively; the theory of Party building and rectification, and building a clean and strong political system; among others.
Over nearly 40 years of carrying out the renewal cause, the Party has led the entire nation to achieve significant, historically meaningful accomplishments while summarising a guiding system of thought—the “theory on the renewal pathway.” This is not only an important contribution of the Party to the treasure trove of revolutionary theory but also a crucial component that, together with Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s Thought, continues to serve as a “torch” lighting the way for our nation in this era of national rise.
Q: After the Draft Documents submitted to the 14th National Congress were published, some opinions appeared that negated the value of the “theory on the renewal pathway.” What is your viewpoint on this matter?
A: In previous terms, whenever the Party published Draft Documents for public consultation, there were always differing opinions, sometimes opposing ones. Some of these, particularly the new or groundbreaking points, have even been exploited and distorted by hostile and reactionary forces to undermine the Party.
Claims by certain individuals that “the Draft Documents submitted to the 14th National Congress contain nothing new,” “the documents merely repeat the viewpoints of previous terms,” or “the renewal pathway is not a theory to be elevated into the Party’s ideological foundation,” are part of a deliberate attempt to sabotage the preparation and conduct of the 14th National Congress. These actors are trying to deny the Party’s enormous theoretical and practical achievements over more than 95 years, particularly in nearly 40 years of renovation. They deliberately ignore the emergence and development of the renovation theory system, which embodies collective wisdom and practical testing accumulated over almost four decades by the Party and people.
It must be emphasised that the addition of the “theory on the renewal pathway,” together with Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s Thought, as the ideological foundation of the Communist Party of Viet Nam represents an unprecedented theoretical breakthrough in Party Congress history. This demonstrates that our Party continuously innovates, creates, and aligns closely with the country’s realities and the demands of the era in leading the revolution.
From this understanding, every cadre, Party member, and citizen must uphold their responsibility by proactively countering and refuting distorted, hostile narratives that attempt to undermine the inclusion of the “theory on the renewal pathway” in the Party’s ideological foundation; they must promptly expose attempts to deny the achievements of renovation and sabotage the Party’s ideological framework.
At the same time, during the preparation for the 14th National Congress, Party committees, organisations, and relevant agencies must actively disseminate and widely communicate the value and significance of completing the Party’s ideological foundation, thereby strengthening the people’s trust in the Party’s leadership and the path toward socialism chosen by the Party, President Ho Chi Minh, and the Vietnamese people.
Thank you very much!
