BEIJING, Aug. 23 -- The remains of Zhou Guangzhao, former president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), were cremated in Beijing on Friday.

Xi Jinping, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi, Han Zheng and others bid farewell to Zhou at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery on Friday morning, paying their respects to Zhou and offering condolences to his family.

Zhou was extolled as an excellent member of the Communist Party of China, a loyal Communist fighter and an outstanding scientist.

Zhou passed away due to illness at 10:55 p.m. on Aug. 17 in Beijing. He was 95.

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

Zhou, a veteran academician of the CAS, had also served as president of the China Association for Science and Technology, and vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress.