In August 2024, To Lam became General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam to serve out the term of incumbent Nguyen Phu Trong, who passed away. In January 2026, the Central Committee unanimously re-elected Lam as General Secretary for a five-year term. In April, the National Assembly also unanimously selected Lam to serve concurrently as President.
Lam’s political ascendancy has raised concerns that Vietnam’s consensus-based political system is being transformed into strongman rule, along the lines of China under President Xi Jinping. Critics allege that by holding the offices of both party leader and head of state, Lam is undermining the ‘four-pillar’ balance of power, where authority is shared among the General Secretary, President, Prime Minister and Chairman of the National Assembly.
But the comparison of Lam and Xi is both superficial and misplaced. Xi’s entrenchment of power is far deeper than Lam’s and extends beyond what is currently possible within the Communist Party of Vietnam. In 2016, Xi was designated the ‘core leader’ of the Chinese Communist Party and in 2018, the National People’s Congress removed the two-term limit on the presidency. Xi bypasses the Politburo, using its Standing Committee to expedite decision-making. Xi’s policy statements have been enshrined as Xi Jinping Thought, on par with Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping.
