China's state media announced that the body of the late premier Li Keqiang will be cremated in Beijing on Thursday.

The state-run Xinhua News Agency made the announcement on Tuesday, calling Li an “excellent member” of the Communist Party and an “outstanding” leader of the party and the state.

Li's remains were transported on a special plane from Shanghai, where he died last Friday of a heart attack at the age of 68.

Flags will fly at half-mast on Thursday at Beijing's Tiananmen Square, Xinhuamen, the Great Hall of the People, the foreign ministry, border ports, seaports and airports as well as Chinese embassies and consulates.