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Whenever state media announces that “the Central Committee convened” or “the Central Committee concluded,” the reports are inevitably filled with unchanging phrases and buzzwords.

These clichés leave the public with a vague sense that a small group of senior leaders is deciding major affairs, yet the specifics—what is discussed, why it matters, and how it affects ordinary people—remain largely unknown. Information is so scarce that rumors often swirl for days before a session even officially opens. [1]

With the 14th National Party Congress scheduled for early 2026, the stakes are rising. In just over a month, the Party apparatus will conclude its selection cycle to determine who will be promoted, who will stay, and who must “step aside.” All of this is expected to be finalized at the upcoming 15th Central Committee Plenum. [2]

These decisions are not shaped in an open parliamentary setting, nor do they wait for the Party Congress, which theoretically serves as the official election. In reality, the outcomes are settled long beforehand in a discreet space that wields far greater power.

Inside these closed meetings, the next political term is defined and the hierarchy of power is reshuffled long before the public sees any official resolutions. Understanding why the Party Congress is often just a ceremonial finale requires looking at the real center of it all: the Central Committee plenums—the closed chamber where Việt Nam’s political order is truly decided.

What is a Central Committee Plenum? To understand the event, the terminology requires clarification. A plenum is a meeting of the Central Committee—the Communist Party of Việt Nam’s highest decision-making body between national congresses. [3] The Committee typically comprises around 180 full members and 20 alternate members in each term.

These members typically represent the country’s political elite: they are the Party secretaries of major provinces and cities, government ministers, department heads, and top-ranking military and police commanders. As noted in a 2022 study by Nguyễn Khắc Giang, the Central Committee functions as the single most important power center within the Party structure. [4]

In essence, a plenum can be understood as a gathering of the most powerful individuals in the Communist Party.

The Center of Decision-making Every five years, state media saturates the country with slogans and banners, framing the National Party Congress as Việt Nam’s most critical political event. While the public often assumes that major personnel decisions and strategic directions are finalized during this spectacle, the reality is different. The answers to key questions—such as the identity of the next General Secretary or the composition of the Politburo—are determined during the final Central Committee plenums of the expiring term, not at the start of the next Congress.

The process typically functions as follows:

The Party initiates the preparation of “strategic-level personnel” early, identifying potential candidates for top leadership. [5] Throughout the second half of the term, the Central Committee subjects these lists to internal polling, discussion, and multi-round vetting across successive plenums. By the final plenums, the Party has effectively “filtered” the official candidate lists for the next Central Committee, the Politburo, and the “Four Pillars” (tứ trụ). Consequently, the results are nearly predetermined by this stage. [6] When the Party Congress finally convenes, the delegates almost invariably vote according to these approved lists; instances of successful self-nomination (”breaking ranks”) outside of the outgoing Central Committee’s endorsement are extremely rare. [7] The upcoming 15th Central Committee Plenum serves as a prime example. This meeting is expected to conclude the personnel vetting process for the 14th National Party Congress in early 2026. Once the 15th Plenum concludes, the Party Congress becomes largely a formality, with delegates ratifying decisions that have already been made behind closed doors.

Where the Rules are Written While the National Assembly and the Government formally issue laws and decrees, identifying them as the sole source of policy is only a partial truth. In the current political hierarchy, the Party “determines the strategic line,” and the state subsequently “institutionalizes” that line into laws and policies. [8]

This relationship can be understood through a simple analogy: the Central Committee lays the tracks, and the state institutions serve as the train running upon them. The directive always originates with the Party. Major initiatives—whether restructuring the state apparatus, streamlining the bureaucracy, or the anti-corruption campaign—begin as Central Committee resolutions.

Once these resolutions are passed, the National Assembly and relevant ministries draft the corresponding laws and regulations to execute them. Thus, even though a Central Committee plenum does not technically pass legislation, it establishes the binding policy framework that governs the nation.

A Process Hidden From the Public Despite the immense power of the Central Committee plenums, they operate under strict secrecy. The meetings are closed to the public and independent media, with no live broadcasts or published records of the debates. Outsiders have no way of knowing who supported a specific proposal, who opposed it, or the arguments used to sway the vote.

Even the output of these meetings is often obscured. The resulting resolutions are typically drafted in vague language—using terms like “strengthen,” “enhance,” or “act decisively.” While Party officials understand the coded instructions within, these phrases offer little concrete information to the public.

Political scholars describe this as a model of “closed decision-making”: the deliberation remains internal, and only the unified final product is released. [9] For the average citizen, this results in a sudden and often confusing reality where senior leaders resign or major policies shift overnight without public explanation, leaving speculation to fill the void.

Where the Future is Written While Central Committee plenums are a routine part of Việt Nam’s political calendar, the gravity of what occurs inside those closed rooms cannot be overstated. It is here that the careers of hundreds of senior officials are decided, and the policies shaping the taxes, wages, and freedoms of over 100 million Vietnamese citizens are forged.

The public is barred from witnessing the debates or the voting, yet the outcome is inescapable. Every decision made in secrecy eventually manifests as the resolutions, laws, or decrees that govern daily life.

As Việt Nam approaches the 14th National Party Congress in early 2026, the significance of the 15th Central Committee Plenum is paramount. This event will define the next five years. Who steers the machinery of power, and which tracks the nation follows, will be decided not at the Congress, but in the quiet deliberation of the Plenum.

Thúc Kháng wrote this article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on Dec. 8, 2025. The Vietnamese Magazine has the copyrights for its English translation.

References: 1. Trịnh Hữu Long. (2025, December 8). Báo đảng im lặng về Hội nghị Trung ương 15 giữa bão tin đồn . Luật Khoa Tạp Chí. https://luatkhoa.com/2025/12/bao-dang-im-lang-ve-hoi-nghi-trung-uong-15-giua-bao-tin-don/

2. See [1]

3. Tư liệu Văn kiện Đảng. (2018, September 20). Điều lệ Đảng (do Đại hội đại biểu toàn quốc lần thứ XI của Đảng thông qua) . tulieuvankien.dangcongsan.vn. https://tulieuvankien.dangcongsan.vn/van-kien-tu-lieu-ve-dang/dieu-le-dang/dieu-le-dang-do-dai-hoi-dai-bieu-toan-quoc-lan-thu-xi-cua-dang-thong-qua-3431

4. See: https://khacgiang.com/my-research/

5. VIETNAM IN 2021 on JSTOR. (n.d.). www.jstor.org . https://www.jstor.org/stable/27206757

6. Reuters. (2025, October 23). Vietnam Communist Party sets Jan 19-25 as dates for 5-yearly congress. Reuters . https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/vietnam-communist-party-sets-jan-19-25-dates-5-yearly-congress-2025-10-23/

7. Nguyen, K. (2021, January 30). Everything you need to know about Vietnam’s Central Committee of the VCP – the Vietnamese . The Vietnamese Magazine. https://www.thevietnamese.org/2021/01/everything-you-need-to-know-about-vietnams-central-committee-of-the-vcp/

8. See [3]

9. Thi, A. P. (2022). Vietnam. Speaking out in Vietnam: Public political criticism in a Communist Party–ruled nation By Benedict J. Tria Kerkvliet Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2019. Pp. 243. Illustrations, Notes, Index. Journal of Southeast Asian Studies , 53 (4), 834–835. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022463422000662

The 15th Plenum: Where Việt Nam’s Future is Written Behind Closed Doors

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