Lam vows faster growth as he seeks to extend his hold on Vietnam

In an address to the Communist Party congress that will decide his political future, Vietnam's top leader To Lam on Tuesday pledged annual economic growth of more than 10% for the remainder of the decade, despite global headwinds.



The weeklong congress, which convenes every five years and kicked off on Monday in Hanoi, will select the party chief, the most powerful position in the single-party country, and set economic goals up to 2030.



The congress is taking place in a time of "many overlapping difficulties and challenges, from natural disasters, storms and floods to epidemics, security risks, fierce strategic competition, and major disruptions in energy and food supply chains," Lam told the nearly 1,600 delegates to the congress at the start of his speech.



Lam, a former head of state security, is seeking to retain his role as party chief and possibly take on the state presidency. He has promised greater governmental reforms after he launched the bureaucracy's most significant overhaul in decades during his brief tenure as party chief.