Vietnam's top leadership talks heat up as Communist Party meets

Senior officials of Vietnam's ruling Communist Party began a two-day meeting on Monday that is set to select candidates for the country's leadership positions for the next five years.

The gathering precedes the five-yearly party congress, scheduled on January 19-25, which will formally nominate leaders and set key policy and economic targets for the remainder of the decade.

Party chief To Lam opened the meeting saying the plenum of the party's central committee is tasked with finalising the selection of state and party leaders, according to his speech published on the government portal.

"I propose that you all focus your intellect and responsibility to select personnel to be nominated for the 14th Party Congress in a straightforward, objective and impartial manner," Lam told the roughly 200 party members attending the meeting.

The names of candidates shortlisted in previous party meetings have not been disclosed. The party said in its portal the meeting will conclude on Tuesday but authorities did not say whether the plenum's decisions will be made public after its conclusion.

Lam, 68, is seeking a second term as party chief, the country's most powerful job which he assumed in August last year after his predecessor Nguyen Phu Trong died.

The sweeping administrative and economic reforms that Lam introduced during his roughly 18 months at the helm have earned him admirers but also stirred discontent.

Alongside the party chief, delegates will also select candidates for the other four "pillars" of the state: president, prime minister, chairman of the parliament, and the standing member of the party's secretariat.