President Xi Jinping shakes hands with a family member of Qian Qichen Thursday in Beijing. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING - The cremation of Qian Qichen, a former vice premier, was held Thursday in Beijing.

Qian was 90 when he died on May 9 in Beijing at 10:06 p.m.

President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang, and other senior leaders including Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli, as well as former leader Hu Jintao, paid their final respects at the service at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery in west Beijing.

All guests stood in silent tribute and bowed three times in front of Qian's body before the cremation. They also extended their condolences to his family.

Xi Jinping, Li Keqiang, Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli, as well as former leaders Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao either visited Qian while he was in hospital or offered their condolences after his death.

Qian was extolled by the central authority as an excellent member of the Communist Party of China, a time-tested and loyal communist soldier, a proletarian revolutionist, and an outstanding leader in diplomacy of the country.