The Lao People's Revolutionary Party (LPRP), the ruling Communist party of Laos since 1975, concluded its 10th National Congress in the Lao capital Vientiane on January 22. The LPRP announced a new 11-member political bureau led by a newly elected party secretary-general Bounnhang Vorachit. At the congress, the LPRP summarized the experiences of reform at home and opening-up to the world in the past 30 years, and charted a blueprint for its economic and social development in the future. What merits particular attention are two signals the LPRP sent at the congress.

The first signal is that the LPRP has reinforced its socialist orientation of development by combining Marxism and the thoughts of Kaysone Phomvihane, founding father of the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

In his political report to the 10th congress, Choummaly Sayasone, secretary-general of the ninth LPRP central committee, said the socialist path should be credited for Laos' achievements in the past three decades.

The second signal is that Laos' political circle continues to be gerontocratic. The 79-year-old Bounnhang replaced the 80-year-old Choummaly as the new secretary-general in a smooth transition of power.

Besides, a group of officials who have strong political family background have been enrolled in the high-level echelon of Laos' political hierarchy.

The political bureau has been almost renewed after the transition, and is structured according to ages, but the gerontocracy is still obvious. In the 11-member political bureau, four members were born in 1940s, five in 1950s, one in 1930s, and only one in 1960s.

At the just concluded congress, Somsavat Lengsavad, an ethnic Chinese who has held the long-term post of Lao deputy prime minister, retired. He had been friendly with China and contributed a lot to the entry of Chinese companies into Laos.

Laos launched its first man-made satellite and initiated a $6 billion railway project with China's help in 2015. China overtook Vietnam in 2014 to be the biggest investor in Laos.

However, Somsavat's retirement, even though he is eight years younger than Bounnhang, shows that Laos does not want to overly depend on China and Laos does not put age in a list of priorities that the ruling party has to consider while selecting their next leader. Those who are aged can stay in the political circle, and those who are relatively young can also be ruled out.

This congress has seen more of the younger generation being elevated into the core of the leadership. Most of these promising leaders of the country have been educated and trained in Vietnam, to which they have a special affection.

The presence of too many old officials in the 70-member central committee means that the LPRP has not managed to fulfill the shift of leadership from generation to generation. Laos might face a dilemma of shortage of political elites.

Upon the conclusion of the 10th congress, Xi Jinping, Secretary General of the CPC Central Committee, extended his congratulations to his Lao counterpart Bounnhang. Xi stressed the significance of maintaining a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with Laos, and forging an unbreakable Sino-Lao community of a common destiny.

According to Xi's directive, we need to ramp up political and diplomatic efforts to beef up our relationship with Laos. The LPRP is deeply influenced by Buddhism, but in the meantime, it adheres to the belief of Communism.

Thus, the CPC and LPRP should reinforce communications, in which they can exchange opinions, shelve disagreements and seek more common ground. China's facilitation could give an impetus to Laos' socialist construction.

We should give an emphasis on public diplomacy between China and Laos. According to incomplete statistics, there are over 100,000 Chinese living in Laos, and an increasing number of Chinese are investing, touring and doing business in Laos. We should give major play to public diplomacy in further shaping of bilateral ties.

Niu Jusheng is a professor and director of the Center for Laos Studies at Suzhou University, and Fang Wen is a professor at Yunnan Agricultural University and a research fellow at the Center for Laos Studies at Suzhou University. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn