Wanted: Communist Party leadership to keep Vietnam in sweet spot amid US-China tensions

Police officers patrol past a poster for the upcoming 13th national congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam on a street in Hanoi. - Reuters

HANOI, Jan 24 (Reuters):Vietnam's ruling Communist Party gathers for a congress this week that will help shape the country's global role for the next five years, selecting new leaders and setting policy as tensions bubble with Beijing and Joe Biden settles in at the White House.

The Communist Party's 13th Congress, from Monday (Jan 25) to Feb 2, will cement leadership looking to leverage Vietnam's economic success to bolster legitimacy. Key to that will be the challenge of balancing relations with China and the United States, for which Vietnam has become an important strategic partner, in a world economy that's been dislodged from previous certainties.