General Secretary To Lam said that the Politburo will soon issue a Resolution on the state economy, focusing on a sustainable model to achieve the double-digit growth target.
On the afternoon of November 4, speaking at the National Assembly group meeting on the draft Document of the 14th Party Congress, the General Secretary acknowledged that one of the important issues in developing the document is the development of a socialist-oriented market economy. This issue is not new, but it needs to be raised in the current context.
He said the Politburo and the Central Committee are pushing to soon issue a Resolution on the state economy. “The state economy plays the leading role. Capital, land, and mineral resources belong to the State, so how can it not be the leading role? It is impossible to forget the state economy,” he said.
According to him, agencies are being asked to urgently prepare this resolution, after there have been resolutions on education and health. At the same time, the Central Government will continue to perfect major resolutions such as the country’s development model based on science, technology and innovation, as well as solutions to promote double-digit growth to achieve the 2030 goal.
General Secretary To Lam spoke at the group on the afternoon of November 4. Image: Hoang Phong
Last year, the total assets of 671 state-owned enterprises (473 enterprises held 100% by the State and 198 units over 50%) reached over 5.6 million billion VND, an increase of 45% compared to 2023. These enterprises have a total revenue of nearly 3.3 million billion VND, an increase of 24%. Profit before tax was nearly 227,500 billion VND, an increase of 8%. They paid nearly 400,000 billion to the State budget, an increase of 9%.
The General Secretary believes that the risk of deviation is always present if the leadership of the Party and the management of the State are relaxed. He affirmed that the market economy is never absolutely free. Even in large economies, the State still intervenes, regulates the market and uses tools such as exchange rates or rescuing businesses. Economic management is an indispensable requirement to ensure socialist orientation, production efficiency and sustainable development goals.
Besides, economic development is only truly sustainable if it is based on science and technology. He also emphasized that growth must be stable and sustainable, “not at the expense of the environment”, not based on expansionary monetary policy but must come from science and technology and increase the proportion of contribution in production. He warned that the impact of foreign indirect investment capital has penetrated deeply into domestic enterprises, thereby requiring a strategy of economic autonomy associated with self-reliance and self-reliance.
About export strategythe General Secretary said that Vietnam needs to choose products suitable to its technological level, make, sell and aim for autonomy. He also emphasized the task of developing defense technology such as UAVs.
Regarding agriculture, he believes that it is necessary to fully account and calculate real efficiency instead of just relying on export quantity. According to the General Secretary, Vietnam exports 8 million tons of rice, but if accounted carefully, “it may lose capital”. The state exempts agricultural taxes, irrigation investment, plant seeds, engineers, fertilizers, and farming techniques.
“One hectare of agricultural land a year only earns 100-200 million VND, many people grow other crops that are more productive. This is an issue that needs to be thought about,” he said, adding that more foreign agricultural production investment models are needed to optimize efficiency, reduce transportation costs, and increase value and productivity.
The General Secretary emphasized the need to bring accounting thinking into economic development, from agriculture to industry, from infrastructure investment to production. A market economy is an accounting economy that must calculate capital recovery, investment efficiency and optimal models. “Building Long Thanh airport, how much does this airport contribute to the budget each year? How many years will it take to recover the capital? Investment must not forget about accounting,” he said.
Meanwhile, private individuals must carefully account for the project because of the loan from the bank. On the contrary, State projects are assigned, so there is a situation of asking and giving. “So if there is a road that can’t be completed in 10 years, it’s okay, while after 10 years the private sector will lose capital,” he warned.
In the national governance orientation, the General Secretary emphasized the need for governance based on transparent laws and reliable data. Without data, he worries that digital transformation will be impossible, “let alone artificial intelligence.” Without data, all industries have no input materials, such as engines that “have no gasoline” to operate.