Former Chinese premier Li Keqiang cremated; President Xi Jinping pays homage

Beijing: Former Chinese premier Li Keqiang, who died of a sudden heart attack on October 27, was cremated on Thursday here after President Xi Jinping and other senior ruling Communist Party leaders paid homage.

The remains of Li, 68, were cremated at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery in Beijing, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

China’s national flags at Tiananmen Square, the seat of the country’s power as well as all government buildings and foreign diplomatic missions, flew half-mast as a mark of respect for the departed leader.

President Xi, accompanied by his wife Peng Liyuan and Premier Li Qiang, other leaders of the ruling Communist Party and the government walked slowly up to Li's remains, stood in solemn silence to pay their tributes, and made three bows.

They shook hands with Li's family members, offering their condolences. Former Chinese president Hu Jintao sent a wreath to express his condolences over Li's passing, the report said.

Other Communist Party and state leaders either paid their final respects at the cemetery or expressed their condolences through various means.

Senior officials from central departments, Li's friends and representatives from his hometown also mourned his passing at the cemetery.

Thousands of people visited Li’s childhood home in Hefei in Anhui province to pay their respects.

Li, who was once a contender for power against Xi, a decade ago died of a heart attack on October 27 in Shanghai. He retired as premier in March this year.

An obituary issued by the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC), the Cabinet and Parliament described Li's death as a huge loss.

He was extolled as an "excellent CPC member, a time-tested and loyal communist soldier and an outstanding proletarian revolutionist, statesman and leader of the Party and the state."