In 2006 Vietnam marked the twentieth anniversary of its reform programme known as doi moi. Party leaders, state officials, academics, and foreign specialists all took part in a series of conferences that evaluated developments over the past two decades and made recommendations for the future. Simultaneously, members of the Vietnam Communist Party (VCP) undertook a parallel policy review in preparation for the Tenth Party Congress in April.

One of the hallmarks of doi moi has been Vietnam's transformation from a centrally planned to a market-led economy and Vietnam's integration into the global economy. In 2006 no two events better symbolized Vietnam's success in attaining these objectives than its membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the successful hosting of the 14th Summit Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum from 18 to 19 November. The Presidents of Chile, China, Russia, and the United States made separate official state visits at this time. Vietnam also achieved the third highest economic growth rate in East Asia. The year 2006, therefore, was one of “success, success, great success”, to quote a party slogan.

As a result, Vietnam was showered with accolades by foreign observers. For example, the President of the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation characterized Vietnam as “one of the world's great untapped emerging markets”. The Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) described Vietnam as an “emerging China”. After the Tenth Party Congress, the foreign media portrayed leadership changes as a victory of southern entrepreneurial spirit over northern conservatism.

This article presents a review of major political, economic, and foreign policy developments in 2006. The analysis documents Vietnam's accomplishments but also tempers the assessment with reference to cross currents that present a more complex portrait of contemporary Vietnam.

Domestic Politics

In January 2006 the VCP Central Committee's Thirteenth Plenum considered a report from the Politburo summarizing the results of a six-month period of in-house consultation on key draft policy documents to be submitted to the Tenth Congress.