'General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong is an outstanding politician and great theorist'

In 2022, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and President of China Xi Jinping awarded the Friendship Medal of the People's Republic of China to General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, demonstrating the friendship of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese people towards General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong personally and the people of Vietnam.

According to Mr. Hung Ba - Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam, the relationship between the two Parties and two countries of Vietnam and China is "very special and can be said to be very rare in the world".

Upon hearing the news of the passing of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Ambassador Hung Ba shared with the press his immense grief and looked back at the great contributions of the head of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

Great leader of the Vietnamese people

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Ambassador Hung Ba:First of all, I would like to express my deepest condolences on the passing of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. With deep sorrow, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China immediately sent a message of condolence to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, respectfully paying tribute to General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong is a great leader of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Vietnamese people. He was elected General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam at the 11th, 12th and 13th National Congresses of the Party and is greatly supported and loved by the Vietnamese people.

Over the past 10 years, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has led the Party, Government and People of Vietnam, making important contributions to the development of socialism in Vietnam.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong is not only an outstanding politician, but also a great theorist, with a profound and clear-headed awareness that Vietnam must persistently follow the Party's leadership and the socialist path, leaving a deep impression on me personally.

- Recently, the fight against corruption and the Party building and rectification work in Vietnam have achieved many remarkable achievements. What is your assessment of the role of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in this issue?

Ambassador Hung Ba:General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong attaches great importance to strengthening the work of preventing and combating corruption and the work of Party building and rectification, especially since the 13th National Party Congress. The Central Executive Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, headed by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, has stepped up the work of preventing and combating corruption with an "uncompromising" attitude and achieved many important results, firmly ensuring the maintenance of security and social order and following the socialist path in accordance with the situation of the country.

Fostering a unique friendship

- In recent years, Vietnam has promoted the implementation of the "Vietnamese bamboo" foreign policy: firm roots, sturdy trunk, flexible branches, imbued with the soul, character and spirit of the Vietnamese people. In your opinion, what role does General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong play in implementing this policy?

Ambassador Hung Ba:General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong proposed to persistently implement “bamboo diplomacy,” emphasizing “firm roots,” meaning that it is necessary to persistently follow the Party’s leadership, persistently follow the socialist path, while at the same time being flexible in terms of strategy, on the basis of maintaining independence and autonomy, and actively developing friendly relations with countries around the world.

Under the leadership of the Party Central Committee headed by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Vietnam's diplomacy has achieved important achievements. As General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong said about Vietnam, "it has never had the foundation, potential, prestige and international position it has today."

We see that Vietnam's diplomacy emphasizes the priority of developing relations with neighboring countries and traditional friendly partners. Vietnam firmly supports genuine multilateralism, attaches importance to protecting international fairness and justice, opposes politicizing human rights issues, and opposes interference in the internal affairs of other countries. The Chinese side highly appreciates this.

- What is your assessment of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's contribution to the overall Vietnam-China relationship?

Ambassador Hung Ba:General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong is a close comrade and sincere friend of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese people. He has inherited and developed the traditional friendship of "both comrades and brothers" between the two Parties and the two countries of Vietnam and China, forging a warm friendship with the Communist Party of China and the Chinese leader.

Since taking office, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has made significant contributions to promoting the development of relations between the two Parties and countries of Vietnam and China, especially through three historic mutual visits with General Secretary Xi Jinping, together guiding the development of relations between the two Parties and two countries in the new era.

In the past two years, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong visited China right after the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, warmly welcomed General Secretary Xi Jinping's state visit to Vietnam at the end of last year. The two General Secretaries jointly declared the building of a community of shared future between China and Vietnam, which has strategic significance, determined a new position for bilateral relations in the new era, and promoted the relations between the two Parties and the two countries to a new historical height.

- From a personal perspective, could you please share your feelings and deep impressions of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong?

Ambassador Hung Ba:During my tenure as Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam for more than five years, I have received great support and assistance from General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. After taking office in 2018, I was honored to present my credentials to General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong. This was the first time General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong received a foreign ambassador presenting his credentials after assuming the position of President. Since then, I have met General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong many times and listened to his important and profound opinions on developing relations between the two Parties and the two countries of China and Vietnam. I was very impressed.

The event that I remember most was on August 25, 2023, at the invitation of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, I went with him to visit the Friendship Border Gate in Lang Son province in the border area between the two countries. General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong repeatedly mentioned that the Vietnam-China Friendship Border Gate is the only one in the world, spreading an important message to the people of the two countries and the international community that the traditional friendship between Vietnam and China is unique.

I replanted the Vietnam-China Friendship Tree with General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong said very emotionally that “this friendship tree has roots as strong as the Vietnam-China relationship. Under the care of the people of the two countries, this friendship tree will certainly grow strong and healthy.” It can be said that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has personally promoted the traditional friendship between the two countries, which moved me deeply.

- Thank you very much./.

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Ambassador Hung Ba just came to bid farewell to Vietnamese leaders on July 11, 2024, on the occasion of the end of his term of office. Mr. Hung Ba affirmed that after the end of his term, regardless of his position, he will always follow and continue to make positive contributions to the friendly neighborly relationship and the community of shared future between Vietnam and China, which has strategic significance.