Remains of senior Chinese official Song Ping cremated

BEIJING -- The remains of Song Ping, a former senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the state, were cremated in Beijing on Tuesday.

Xi Jinping, Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi, Han Zheng and other leaders paid their final respects to Song at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery. Hu Jintao sent a wreath to express his condolences over Song's passing.

Song died of illness in Beijing on March 4 at the age of 109.

He was extolled in an official statement as an excellent member of the CPC, a time-tested and loyal communist soldier, an outstanding proletarian revolutionary and statesman, and an exceptional leader of the Party and the state.

Song had served as a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the 13th CPC Central Committee and a state councilor.

Xi Jinping, Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi, Han Zheng and Hu Jintao, among others, had either visited Song while he was in hospital or expressed deep condolences over his passing and offered sincere sympathies to his family through various means.