Immediately after Resolution 79 was announced, some extremists and ill-intentioned organisations and individuals distorted its content, claiming that it was only “old wine in a new bottle”, continuing to “shield” a sector they label as inefficient. Some even argued that affirming the leading role of the state economy reflects “conservatism” and “stubbornness”, while the private sector, which makes significant contributions, is “deserving” of the central position.
Such arguments are not only one-sided but also deliberately confuse concepts. Their deeper aim is to deny the role of the state economy, thereby weakening the material foundation of the socialist orientation and steering the economy away from the path chosen by the Party and the people.
In reality, Resolution 79 neither denies nor downplays the role of the private sector. Earlier, on May 4, 2025, the Politburo issued Resolution No. 68-NQ/TW on the development of the private economy, identifying it as “one of the most important driving forces of the national economy” and a pioneering force in promoting growth and enhancing national competitiveness.
Resolution 68 also calls for the complete removal of prejudice and barriers, creating the most favourable conditions for the private sector to develop strongly, equally, and transparently. In the overall context, Resolution 79 and Resolution 68 are not contradictory but complementary. One emphasises the leading role of the state economy; the other affirms the private sector as a key driving force. This is a comprehensive approach, consistent with the characteristics of Viet Nam’s socialist-oriented market economy—where different economic sectors coexist, develop over the long term, compete fairly, and cooperate on an equal footing under the management of a socialist rule-of-law State.
In practice, the state economy holds key sectors and fields such as energy, core finance and banking, telecommunications infrastructure, strategic infrastructure, national defence and security, and important natural resources. These are areas of vital importance to national sovereignty and long-term stability, which cannot be left entirely to pure market mechanisms.
The total annual net revenue of the state-owned enterprise sector is now many times higher than 20 years ago, increasing from around 610 trillion VND to over 4.3 quadrillion VND; contributions to the state budget have nearly quintupled, reaching more than 180 trillion VND each year.
According to data released by management agencies, the total annual net revenue of the state-owned enterprise sector is now many times higher than 20 years ago, increasing from around 610 trillion VND to over 4.3 quadrillion VND; contributions to the state budget have nearly quintupled, reaching more than 180 trillion VND each year.
In addition, this sector plays a crucial role in infrastructure investment and development, implementing large-scale projects with high spillover effects that the private sector may find difficult or unwilling to participate in due to long payback periods and high risks.
Notably, during difficult periods such as the global financial crisis, pandemics, and major natural disasters, the state economy has served as a “pillar”, helping to stabilise the market, ensure the supply of essential goods, and maintain employment and social welfare. This provides vivid evidence of the State’s regulatory, guiding, and responsive role through economic tools.
However, affirming the leading role does not mean ignoring limitations. Resolution 79 frankly acknowledges existing shortcomings in the state economy: operational efficiency in some enterprises is not commensurate with the resources they hold; governance remains inadequate; mechanisms for supervision, decentralisation, and delegation of authority are at times unclear; and issues such as scattered investment and slow technological innovation still exist.
Identifying these bottlenecks demonstrates a spirit of openness and a determination for genuine reform rather than justification. A notable new point of Resolution 79 is the strong shift in mindset from administrative command-based management to development creation; from micro-level intervention to macro-level orientation; and from subsidies and protection to fair and transparent competition under a State-managed market mechanism.
The document emphasises the need to clearly separate the State’s ownership function from its state management function; to distinctly define political tasks and business and production operations; and to raise corporate governance standards in line with international practices. It also addresses the need to improve institutions on ownership, investment, procurement, and capital management; to build a synchronised digital data system for monitoring and evaluating operation effectiveness; and to accelerate digital transformation and innovation within the state economy. These are fundamental solutions to improve productivity, quality, and competitiveness, rather than only expanding scale.
Notably, Resolution 79 encourages the development of flexible, equal, and transparent public–private partnership models; promotes mechanisms such as “public investment–private governance” or “private investment–public use” in appropriate areas, thereby expanding the space for cooperation, upholding the strengths of each economic sector, and creating a mutually supportive development ecosystem.
In the context of increasingly intense strategic competition among nations, the requirement to ensure economic security and self-reliance in technology, energy, and finance has become more urgent than ever. An economy lacking a sufficiently strong core force to guide and regulate is vulnerable to dependence and external shocks. Therefore, strengthening and improving the efficiency of the state economy is not only an economic issue but also a strategic requirement for politics, security, and sustainable development.
At the same time, the private sector continues to be enabled to make breakthroughs and serve as an important driver of growth. These two sectors do not negate each other but complement one another. The state economy plays the role of a “conductor”, creating the environment and ensuring macroeconomic stability, while the private sector leverages its dynamism, flexibility, and creativity in exploring markets and innovating products and services. When placed within a transparent institutional framework with fair competition, this combination will create a synergistic strength for the economy.
It can be affirmed that Resolution 79 is a strategic step to elevate the leading role of the state economy in a modern sense, aligned with market economy and integration requirements.
Properly repositioning the leading role of the state economy is not only about protecting a particular economic sector but about ensuring the material foundation for the chosen development path, enabling Viet Nam’s economy to remain self-reliant, flexible, and resilient in the face of all challenges.
When the state economy is reorganised towards being streamlined, efficient, transparent, and modern; when the private sector is fully enabled to unleash its creative resources; and when all economic sectors operate within a synchronous and stable institutional framework, the goal of rapid and sustainable development towards socialism will gain stronger practical foundations.
