Since we received the very sad news regarding Ramzi, we were both in a state of profound sadness, unable to imagine a world with this larger-than-life exceptional man, and we both agreed that he had deeply touched our lives and left an indelible memory that we will always cherish. Our thoughts went to his family. If his departure was extremely hard on us, how would it be on his dearest and closest in the whole world? We may not be among Ramzi's old friends - we only got to know him as of April 2012, however, being what he was, he very rapidly became one of our closest friends and the most depebdable person to help us navigate the intrictae laberinthes of life in Beijng. Very few people had his extraordinary gift of understanding China in depth, totally assimilating its social culture and business practices, then explaining it to China new-comers like ourselves through witty, intelligent and insightful anecdots and vignettes. Our time spent with him was equally very warm, funny and informative. Very soon after we got to know each other, Ramzi started to treat us like his family in Beijing. During his numerous trips to China, we would always be the first to meet him and the last to see him off to the airport. When he was away in London or Marbella, hardly a day will pass without talking to him and exchanging news and ideas. He really became an integral part of our life. We thought of ourselves as being privileged for having a beloved friend who was chivalrous and radiant with love, generosity and kindness towards everyone. He entered our lives one day in a Beijing spring, and although his body has left us for good, his spirit will always remain with us. His kind face, charismatic smile, refreshing humour and fascinating character will leave their imprints upon us and our children forever. Imad Moustapha and Rafif Al-Sayed. Rafif Al-Sayed, Ph.D. is an international consultant on S&T policies Imad Moustapha, Ph.D. is the ambassador of Syria to China