chikako tanaka, nhk world. >>> communist party officials in vietnam kick off an eight-day congress in hanoi on thursday. the meeting is held every five years. it's a key political event in the country's calendar. more than 1,500 representatives from across the nation will choose the party leadership and discuss national policies. delegates to the congress are expected to call for further economic reforms and sustainable growth building on recent progress made toward integrating na aember of the asean economic community which was launched last month, and the country has signed up to the landmark trans-pacific partnership trade accord. the delegates are likely to endorse nguyen phu trong to retain the post of general secretary. the congress will likely decide to beef national defense to protect the country's sovereignty. vietnam has territorial disputes with china over some islands in the south china sea. >>> vietnam is enjoying annual economic growth of about 6%. the boom is luring back thousands of people who left during the turmoil of the vietnam war and its aftermath. these ex-patri