Beijing (VNA) – The passing of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong is a huge loss to not only the Party, State and people of Vietnam but also international friends, including Chinese scholars who have spent years studying Vietnam.

Li Minghan, a Hong Kong-based scholar on Vietnam and President Ho Chi Minh, said that he is extremely saddened by the passing of the communist, who is one of respectable Vietnamese leaders.

Observing and studying Vietnam's development for more than a decade, Li realised that General Secretary Trong had good and noble virtues of a leader like President Ho Chi Minh. Under his leadership, the country has achieved outstanding progress in politics, economy, defence and security, and secured increasing prosperity and happiness for its people.

Li said that Vietnam's achievements have had a profound impact on all socialist countries in the world, especially its anti-corruption results in recent years. General Secretary Trong looked small and simple but he was so strong-willed to order the stringent settlement of corrupt officials strictly, even those holding high positions in the Party and State leadership.

The leader also left extremely good impression of his integrity and simplicity during his whole life devoted to the Party, the nation and the people.

Noting the General Secretary used only an old car for about 20 years working in various positions, including three terms as the leader of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Li shared that to effectively fight against corruption and negative phenomena, leaders themselves must set good examples first.

Li, who is 80 years old, said that both he and his wife used to learn Vietnamese at Beijing Foreign Studies University. His father-in-law had the honour to prepare a meal for President Ho Chi Minh when he worked at the Chinese Embassy in Hanoi. That inspired his interest in studying Vietnam in general and President Ho Chi Minh in particular.

The scholar found that General Secretary Trong learned and applied much of the style, virtues and ethics of President Ho Chi Minh, especially the loyalty and dedication to the Party, the State and the people of Vietnam.

Mourning the Vietnamese Party chief, Li was so moved that he made a poem to share with his Vietnamese friends and people in Hong Kong. He held that the General Secretary deserves to be one of President Ho Chi Minh's excellent disciples.

Regarding Vietnam-China relations, Li said that one of the bilateral ties' highlights under Trong's leadership is an appropriate and effective foreign policy in harmonising Vietnam's relations with major countries, as well as strengthening and developing connections with socialist countries and communist parties. Vietnam has not only stabilised relations with the US and Russia, but also promoted relations with China to a new level.

Meanwhile, Wang Feng who is a former reporter of the Xinhua News Agency, said that she felt down to hear about Trong’s passing. The leader dedicated his entire life to the development of Vietnam as well as the friendship in all fields between the two countries.

Wang shared that she met Trong once and felt that he was very friendly, smart and flexible. There are not many leaders like him.

Researching many works by the General Secretary, she perceived that Trong was a person with a deep theoretical foundation, in terms of both politics and economics. He applied Marxism-Leninism into practice, made great contributions to anti-corruption efforts and economic and cultural development in Vietnam, and promoted the two countries' exchanges and cooperation.

ಞ Under Trong’s leadership, the China - Vietnam relationship has achieved many highly positive results in various fields, especially people-to-people exchanges, Wang added./.