Former Chinese Vice Premier and State Councilor Liu Yandong passed away due to illness at the age of 81 in Beijing at 2:53 p.m. Wednesday.

Liu also served as a member of the Political Bureau of the 17th and 18th Central Committees of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and a vice chairperson of the 10th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Liu was "an excellent Party member, a time-tested and loyal communist fighter, and an outstanding leader in the CPC's united front work and in the fields of education, science and technology, health, and children and women work in China," said an official statement.