Vietnam’s Communist Party has opened a meeting to decide the country's top leadership and policies for the next five years. The National Congress began Monday with 1,586 delegates gathering in Hanoi. Party chief To Lam is widely expected to secure a full term and may seek to concentrate power further at the top. Delegates will also finalize an economic blueprint aimed at turning Vietnam into a high-income country by 2045, while managing rising U.S.–China tensions, a fragmented global economy and mounting environmental pressures. Delegates will elect about 200 members to the party's Central Committee, which in turn will choose appointees to the powerful Politburo.
