BEIJING, June 12 -- President Xi Jinping has praised the deeds of a late forestry professor, who championed poverty alleviation through afforestation, saying he could be a role model for members of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Xi made the remarks in an instruction letter in praise of Li Baoguo, who taught at Hebei Agricultural University. Xi called him an excellent intellectual and likened him to the "foolish old man on the Taihang Mountains," the main character of a Chinese fable who relentlessly tried to remove the mountains in front of his house.

Xi urged party members, cadres, educators and scientists to learn from Li, whose tireless, selfless work and spirit was for the masses.

Li will be remembered as a man who was not afraid of getting his hands dirty, as he would spend more than half the year directly involved in afforestation projects and worked closely with villagers to help them lift themselves out of poverty. He successfully afforested more than 1.4 million mu (93,000 hectares) of barren mountains.

He died of heart attack on April 10. He was 58.

Li was posthumously awarded the title of "Excellent CPC Member," the top award an individual can receive for deeds that serve the people or the state.