Politics

☕ Afternoon briefing on April 14

The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency.

☕ Afternoon briefing on April 14

Hanoi (VNA) – The following is a brief review of the day’s events as reported by the Vietnam News Agency.

- General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and State President To Lam, accompanied by his spouse Ngo Phuong Ly and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, arrived in Beijing on April 14 morning, beginning a four-day state visit to China at the invitation of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and President of China Xi Jinping and his spouse.

chine-1.jpg
General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and State President To Lam and his spouse Ngo Phuong Ly are welcomed at Beijing Capital International Airport on April 14 morning. (Photo: VNA)

The Vietnamese leader and delegation were welcomed at Beijing Capital International Airport by Politburo member and Secretary of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee Yin Li; Member of the CPC Central Committee and Head of its International Department Liu Haixing; Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam He Wei and his spouse; Vietnamese Ambassador to China Pham Thanh Binh and his spouse; along with staff of the Vietnamese Embassy in China and representatives of the Vietnamese community and students in the country. Read full story

- Party General Secretary and State President To Lam visited the Xiong'an New Area in Hebei province on April 14, shortly after arriving in Beijing International Airport for his four-day state visit to China.

The Vietnamese leader and his entourage were briefed on the master plan and development model of Xiong’an by Secretary of the Hebei provincial Party Committee Ni Yuefeng, who accompanied the delegation during the trip. Read full story

- Prime Minister Le Minh Hung has ordered that second campuses of Bach Mai and Viet Duc hospitals in the northern province of Ninh Binh become operational in the second quarter without further delay, as directed by Party General Secretary and State President To Lam.

e.jpg
Prime Minister Le Minh Hung speaks at the working session (Photo: VNA)

Chairing a working session between Government leaders and relevant ministries and agencies in Hanoi on April 14, PM Hung said the Government is moving aggressively to break long-standing bottlenecks and revive stalled projects, particularly in the health sector. Read full story

- Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico left Hanoi on the early morning of April 14, concluding his three-day official visit to Vietnam at the invitation of Prime Minister Le Minh Hung.

During the visit, Fico paid tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum and laid a wreath at the Monument to Heroes and Martyrs on Bac Son street in Hanoi. Read full story

- As Vietnam accelerates digital banking and develops an international financial centre, cooperation with Australia in financial technology (fintech) and regulatory technology (regtech) is expected to unlock significant opportunities for building a modern, transparent, and globally connected financial ecosystem.

The outlook was highlighted at a conference on the strategic vision for the Vietnam International Financial Centre in Ho Chi Minh City (VIFC-HCMC) and Vietnam–Australia cooperation potential, jointly organised on April 14 by the Australian Trade and Investment Commission and the VIFC-HCMC executive authority. Read full story

- The Vietnamese motorcycle market in Q1 2026 witnessed notable developments, with a strong acceleration in the shift towards electric motorcycles, while gasoline-powered ones continued to maintain steady growth.

According to the Vietnam Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers (VAMM), sales by its members, including Honda Vietnam, Yamaha Motor Vietnam, Piaggio Vietnam, SYM Vietnam and Suzuki Vietnam, rose by 8.3% year-on-year to 729,121 units. Read full story

- Minister of Science and Technology Vu Hai Quan has signed a decision approving the Vietnam Research Excellence Fellowship (VREF) for the 2026–2030 period.

p.jpg
Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)



VREF is designed to deliver on the Party’s guidelines, notably the Politburo’s Resolution 57-NQ/TW dated December 22, 2024, which targets breakthroughs in sci-tech, innovation and national digital transformation, as well as Resolution 71-NQ/TW dated August 22, 2025 on education and training development. Read full story.

- The Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Hanoi on April 14 launched the 2026 fundraising campaign for the “For Vietnam’s Sea and Islands” Fund, an initiative reflecting the capital’s enduring solidarity and responsibility towards forces who are safeguarding the nation’s maritime sovereignty.

Addressing the event, Chairwoman of the municipal Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee Bui Huyen Mai highlighted that, in recent years, Hanoi has upheld its tradition of “standing with the nation” through a wide range of meaningful activities directed towards the country’s sea and islands. These efforts have included public awareness campaigns, mobilisation drives, and visits by delegations to encourage and support military personnel and residents stationed on islands./. Read full story

VNA
#afternoon briefing
Follow VietnamPlus

Related News

☕ Afternoon briefing on April 10

☕ Afternoon briefing on April 10

The ceremony marking the conferment of the “Hero of the People's Armed Forces” title on Military Region 3, Permanent member of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat Tran Cam Tu's official visit to Cambodia, and statistics of public investment disbursement in Q1 are among news highlights on April 10.

☕ Afternoon briefing on April 9

☕ Afternoon briefing on April 9

Permanent member of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat Tran Cam Tu's official visit to Laos, Vietnam’s seafood exports in Q1, and Mui Ne named among the world’s most trending destinations for 2026 are among news highlights on April 9.

See more

National Assembly Chairman visits Vietnamese community in Italy (Photo: VNA)

NA Chairman meets Vietnamese community in Italy

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man reaffirmed that the Party and State consistently place people at the centre of development, stressing that overseas Vietnamese are an inseparable part of the nation and an important resource for national growth.

Party General Secretary and State President To Lam and his spouse meet with staff of the Vietnamese Embassy and representatives of the Vietnamese community in China on April 14. (Photo: VNA)

Top leader meets Vietnamese diplomatic staff, community in China

The leader commended the Vietnamese Embassy and agencies in China for their efforts in handling a large workload across a vast area, closely following the Party’s guidelines and effectively carrying out tasks related to external relations, economic diplomacy, cultural diplomacy, and overseas Vietnamese affairs.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man (right) and Maurizio Acerbo, General Secretary of the Communist Refoundation Party (PRC) of Italy, at their meeting on April 14 (Photo: VNA)

NA Chairman meets Italy’s Communist Reconstruction Party leader in Rome

Regarding future cooperation orientations, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man suggested that the two parties enhance mutual understanding and exchanges, deepen relations in a substantive manner, and promote their roles in strengthening multifaceted cooperation between the two countries. He called for increased people-to-people exchanges and cooperation in culture, arts, education and training, tourism, and locality-to-locality links.

National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man meets Chairwoman of the Italy – Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Group Chiara Gribaudo. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam – Italy parliamentary friendship strengthened

Welcoming the top Vietnamese legislator and a high-level delegation of Vietnam to Italy, Gribaudo highly valued the growing cooperation between the two parliaments, and expressed her hope that the Italy – Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Group will soon organise a visit to Vietnam to further strengthen bilateral ties.

Vietnamese students in China welcome Party General Secretary and State President To Lam’s visit to China and his spouse at the airport (Photo: VNA)

Top Vietnamese leader’s visit to China carries significance: Chinese scholar

Party General Secretary and State President To Lam’s visit to China from April 14-17 will inject fresh momentum into the Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership, intensify connectivity, and create conditions to upgrade cooperation in trade, infrastructure, security, and people-to-people ties, ultimately supporting regional peace, stability, and prosperity.

Party General Secretary and State President To Lam and his entourage visit the Xiong'an New Area in Hebei province on April 14. (Photo: VNA)

Top Vietnamese leader visits China’s Xiong'an New Area

Established in April 2017, the Xiong’an New Area is regarded by China as an important historical strategic choice of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, following the development of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone in Guangdong and the Pudong New Area in Shanghai.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and State President To Lam and his spouse Ngo Phuong Ly are welcomed at Beijing Capital International Airport on April 14 morning. (Photo: VNA)

Top Vietnamese leader arrives in Beijing, beginning state visit to China

The state visit marks a new beginning in the bilateral relations as both countries enter a new stage of development. Vietnam is stepping into a new development era following the successful 14th National Party Congress, while China is embarking on the implementation of its 15th five-year socio-economic development plan.

Professor Cui Shoujun of the School of International Studies at Renmin University of China in an interview with the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)'s reporters. (Photo: VNA)

Top Vietnamese leader’s visit hoped to provide fresh momentum for bilateral ties: Chinese professor

According to Professor Cui, the visit underscores the guiding role of high-level diplomacy in shaping the bilateral relations. The decision by Vietnam’s top leader to choose China for his first overseas trip shortly after assuming the presidency highlights the strategic significance of the bilateral ties and reaffirms the long-standing friendship often described as “both comrades and brothers.”

Party General Secretary To Lam (R) welcomes Party General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping in Hanoi in April 2025. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam–China: New momentum for trade growth

In 2025, China remained Vietnam’s largest trading partner. Conversely, Vietnam was China’s biggest trading partner in ASEAN and ranked fourth globally, with two-way trade reaching 256.4 billion USD, up 24.8% year-on-year. In the first two months of 2026 alone, trade turnover hit 66.7 billion USD, an increase of 30.2%.

Party General Secretary and State President To Lam receives Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico on April 13. (Photo: VNA)

Slovak PM concludes official visit to Vietnam

The visit by Prime Minister of Slovakia Robert Fico on April 12-14 was described as a vivid demonstration of Slovakia’s goodwill and high regard for the traditional friendship between the two countries, marking a significant milestone that opens a new phase of more stable and substantive development in bilateral ties.