Beijing (VNA) – Overseas Vietnamese (OVs) in China have expressed their outpouring of grief upon hearing the news on the passing away of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong.

They told the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)'s resident reporters in Beijing that they felt an eternal gratitude to the Party chief who took time to meet and encourage the OV community to study, integrate into the host nation, and become a bridge for the Vietnam – China friendship and cooperation.

Bui Van Kien, an OV in China, reminisced about the time when the Party leader visited China in 2017 and had a meeting with the Vietnamese people there. He said that General Secretary Trong listened to OVs’ sharing about their difficulties, and directed the embassy to carry out practical policies to handle their challenges.

The Party chief, Kien said, was a close, intimate and open leader, adding following his visit to China, he has kept a close watch on the Vietnam – China ties, while expressing his delight at the homeland’s robust economic development and increasing position in the international arena under the leadership of Party General Secretary Trong.

He is a genuine revolutionary who devoted his whole life to the development and elevation of the nation’s position to a new high, Kien said, adding he believed that the Vietnamese people, inheriting the late leader’s legacies, will continue promoting solidarity and having confidence in the Party’s leadership and policies which he great-heartedly built.

With Le Ngoc Quyen, who has been in China for nearly 13 years, and had a chance to meet the Party chief, said General Secretary Trong is a sound leader with significant dedication to the nation and people.

Recalling the Party chief’s historic visit to China in 2022, he said it helped tighten the bilateral relations, with the signing of a wide range of documents and agreements that facilitate trade ties for the residents and enterprises of both nations.

OVs in China’s Hong Kong and Macau special administrative regions have been in depth of emotions when knowing of the bad news.

Lawyer Doan Quynh Linh, Chairwoman of the Vietnamese Association in Hong Kong, shared with VNA's reporters that she has been impressed by the simple lifestyle of the leader with devotion to the people until his last breath.

The Party chief’s shining example will be a source of inspiration for generations of Vietnamese people, she said, underlining the Vietnamese community in Hong Kong highly evaluates the Party's and State's policies which pay due attention to OVs, connect them with the homeland, and see them as an inseparable part of the nation.

Meanwhile, Tran Thi Gon, Vice Chairwoman of the Vietnamese Association in Macau, said she and OVs in the region have kept a close watch on the nation’s development under the leadership of General Secretary Trong, adding thanks to the Party and State’s care, particularly that of the Party chief, the role of the association in Macau has increased while the OVs’ rights have been ensured.

According to Dr. Nguyen Hoang Long at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (China), the Party and State’s policies under the leadership of Party chief Trong, for the OVs over the past time have an important role to play in turning the hearts of the OVs to the homeland. The Vietnam – Hong Kong relations, and the Vietnam – China ties as a whole have developed strongly, bring practical benefits to the people of both sides.

He added that General Secretary Trong is a bright example of steadfastness in thought, decisiveness in leadership, simple lifestyle, and devotion of all-efforts for the nation’s developm𝓰ent cause, for younger generatio💖ns, particularly intellectuals who are studying overseas./.