Vietnam has spoken and acted upon national independence during the Era of Independence, spoken and acted on the goal of a prosperous and strong country during the Era of Renewal, and Vietnam will also speak and act on standing shoulder to shoulder with great powers during the Era of Ascent.

Regarding this, the Party has formulated increasingly comprehensive directions, policies, and strategies over the years. The State has begun constructing plans, regulations, and mechanisms for development as Vietnam approaches its 100th anniversary. In the upcoming 14th Party Congress, crucial issues for the first five years of this 20-year Era of Ascent will be decided.

If the hallmark of the Era of Independence is the saying, "Everywhere you go, you meet heroes," then the characteristic of the Era of Renewal is "No one is left behind." Heroes and champions were the fearless pioneers, without whom it would have been impossible to fight and defeat the enemy to achieve independence. In the Era of Renewal, if the vulnerable were left behind, what would independence mean when happiness does not reach those devastated by war?

Vietnam has successfully addressed the demands inherent to the characteristics of these two eras, achieving many accomplishments in the nation's construction and development. From the undeniable realities of Vietnam's past two eras, we now turn to the defining feature of the forthcoming third era. This is a significant issue, and I humbly contribute a small insight to this vast understanding.

The Era of Ascent: prosperity for the nation

The third era, the Era of Vietnam's Ascent, was officially announced by General Secretary and President To Lam at a renowned American university, a place that has produced many of the United States' most notable presidents and leaders in various fields. In the future, this era will be discussed, analyzed, and evaluated both as a scientific thesis and a socio-political and economic theme concerning Vietnam and the world in light of unforeseen challenges.

For Vietnam, standing shoulder to shoulder with the world's great powers was a vision set forth by President Ho Chi Minh when he established the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. It is both coincidental and deliberate that the terms "Communist," "Democratic," and "Republic" appear together in Vietnam's official name. The Communist Party of Vietnam, along with the Democratic and Republican Parties of the United States, are ruling parties of two nations that have experienced war, achieved peace, and now cooperate for development, elevating the bilateral relationship to the level of a "comprehensive strategic partnership."

The literal meaning of Vietnam’s Era of Ascent does not imply the rise of someone waking from sleep. On the contrary, it is the ascent of an alert, vigorous individual full of determination, racing to join the ranks of the world’s great powers. Currently, this group includes the G7, G10, and G20, representing 20 nations out of over 200 member states of the United Nations.

To join this elite group, Vietnam must become the 21st nation, potentially replacing one of the existing 20. This is a 20-year marathon, spanning four 5-year terms of the Party, State, and the entire Vietnamese political system. Any weakness in this system will leave Vietnam’s dream of joining the world’s great powers unfulfilled.

Vietnam already possesses a well-tested political system capable of completing this marathon. Alongside this, a new and critical task is to accurately identify the defining feature of Vietnam's Era of Ascent.

It would be meaningless to impose the characteristics of the Era of Independence or the Era of Renewal onto the Era of Ascent. The great success of the Renewal era was in eradicating hunger and reducing poverty to a global minimum, positioning Vietnam among countries with a high chance of escaping the middle-income trap that many other nations still struggle to overcome.

During the Era of Renewal, Vietnam successfully transitioned from a centrally planned economy to a socialist-oriented market economy. This success, along with the achievements of the Renewal era, has provided the essential foundations for the Era of Ascent: A Vietnam that “has never had the stature, potential, position, and international prestige as it does today,” as affirmed by the late General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

With the precious assets gained during the Era of Renewal, Vietnam in the Era of Ascent can no longer solely rely on a socialist-oriented market economy. The country must pursue prosperity through a socialist orientation. At its highest level, Communism is about making the people wealthy, leading to a strong nation, and a democratic, equitable, and civilized society. The Communist Party of Vietnam has no other interest than the welfare of the nation and its people.

Prosperity has been a dream for thousands of years but has never been fully realized. Now, Vietnam has gathered all the necessary and sufficient conditions to rise and stand with the world’s great powers. Prosperity is clearly the defining characteristic of Vietnam’s Era of Ascent over the next 20 years.

Achieving wealth for individuals, families, and localities was already possible during the Era of Renewal. However, making the entire nation and people prosperous depends on the Era of Ascent.

If Vietnam does not “ascend,” the millions of family businesses and private enterprises in the country will largely remain small and medium-sized entities, with only a few rising to regional or global significance. This is an inevitable endpoint of the Era of Renewal. The nation must bid farewell to the old era and step into the new one, achieving national prosperity through the miraculous advancements of humanity.

In the near future, Long Thanh International Airport will be inaugurated, alleviating the decades-long overload of Vietnam’s aviation system. Simultaneously, an international-level seaport is being rapidly constructed along the southeastern coast to leverage Vietnam’s maritime economic strengths. Shortly thereafter, Vietnam will begin constructing a state-of-the-art North-South high-speed railway system to replace the old railway built during French colonial rule.

These new infrastructure factors alone could add significant percentage points to Vietnam’s GDP during the Era of Ascent. However, this pales in comparison to the wealth-generating potential of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, where semiconductor technologies enable rapid wealth-building decisions, with millions of calculations being performed every second.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution emerged in the latter half of the Era of Renewal, laying the groundwork for a new revolution based on a nation with strengths in semiconductor materials, electricity, water, and most importantly, high-quality human resources.

All these factors are converging and simultaneously unleashing their combined power to develop industries and semiconductor technologies, with the pinnacle being the next-generation chips from 3mm and beyond. The Era of Ascent already holds the golden key to creating wealth for the Vietnamese nation and its people.

However, it must be reiterated: Even with the golden key, people - the entire population - remain the most decisive factor. Currently, Vietnam’s population consists of the wealthy, the poor, and a large middle class. There are no official statistics on these three levels, but it is clear that the proportion of the rich and poor is small, while the majority are middle-income earners.

As Vietnam enters the Era of Ascent, it may be time to shift from the motto "No one is left behind" to "No one is left without support to move forward." This priority should be mainly given to the middle class, who have escaped poverty and are harboring ambitions of becoming wealthy. If supported, these individuals will soon join the ranks of the wealthy.

Once the majority of the population has achieved prosperity, the Era of Ascent will have completed its historic mission, with the nation standing proudly alongside the world’s great powers.

Finally, Vietnam’s prosperity will not be achieved through any means other than socialist-oriented development. This is a collective prosperity, where the people are rich, the nation is strong, and society is democratic, equitable, and civilized. In this collective effort, there is no room for oppression, exploitation, embezzlement, or corruption.

Dinh Duc Sinh