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Showing posts with the label China- Laos Relation

Is Laos Moving Away From China With Its Leadership Transition? ( Source- The Diplomat / Author- Fanny Potkin)

Image credits- Wikimedia Commons Source- The Diplomat Author- Fanny Potkin Laos’ Communist Party elected Vice President Bounnhang Vorachit to be its next leader last week, after a vote by the newly formed 10th Party Central Committee. State media announced on Friday that the congress of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, which is held every five years, had selected a new central committee and politburo to lead the country. The 78-year-old Bounnhang is replacing Choummaly Sayasone, 79, as secretary-general and president; Choummaly is stepping down after almost a decade in power. Some observers believe that the change in leadership signifies a tilt away from China and closer to longtime ally Vietnam, as Laos takes on the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional bloc. The secretive nature of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, which has ruled the country since 1975, makes its internal politics difficult to understand, but the c