Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, mourns the passing of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong at the Embassy of Vietnam in China on July 20, 2024. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)
BEIJING, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Chinese president, went to the Embassy of Vietnam in China on Saturday to mourn the passing of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong.
Praising Trong as a staunch Marxist and a great leader of the CPV and the Vietnamese people, Xi said that Trong had devoted himself entirely to the CPV and the country, to the Vietnamese people and to the cause of socialism in Vietnam, and had been deeply respected and admired by the party, military and people of Vietnam.
Xi recalled that over the past decade, he and Trong had maintained close contact and developed a deep camaraderie, and that last year they jointly announced the elevation of bilateral ties to a China-Vietnam community with a shared future that carries strategic significance, a milestone in bilateral ties.
"The passing of Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong has deprived us of a promoter of China-Vietnam relations and a companion for the cause of socialism, and we are deeply saddened," said Xi.
He said that Trong's outstanding contribution to the relations between the two parties and the two countries and to the cause of the global socialist movement will always be remembered.
Xi stressed that the CPC and the Chinese government firmly support the CPV in uniting and leading the Vietnamese people to develop socialism that suits Vietnam's national conditions.
It is believed that under the strong leadership of the CPV Central Committee, the Vietnamese people will surely be able to turn grief into strength and continue to make greater achievements in the cause of reform, opening up and socialist construction, Xi said.
He said he firmly believes that China and Vietnam will continue to work together to make profound and solid progress in building the China-Vietnam community of a shared future. ■
