To Lam is reportedly heading to China after securing the Presidency of Vietnam. He was of course already the CPV General Secretary, but is now the first leader of Vietnam to hold both party and state titles simultaneously (well, to be annoyingly technical, he already held them both briefly in 2024, during the leadership transition, but now holds them both on a permanent instead of temporary basis).
HANOI, April 8 (Reuters) - Vietnam's top leader To Lam is planning a visit to China next week to meet his counterpart Xi Jinping, three people briefed on the plans told Reuters, in a trip that would closely follow his elevation to the state presidency. The trip, which is still being planned and could be postponed because of scheduling issues, would cement Vietnam's ties with its much larger neighbour at a time when both are worried about energy security and face tariff pressure from the United States.
The sources declined to be named because in Vietnam details of leaders' overseas trips are considered sensitive. The trip is expected to take place on 14-17 April, two of the people said. It would likely be Lam's first overseas trip since he was on Tuesday, a step that gave him a powerful double mandate to rule the country for the next five years, with a concentration of power which is unusual in Vietnam and similar to China's, where Xi also heads both the party and the state.