Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has urged efforts to deepen reform and opening up, enhance innovation capacities and development momentum, improve people's well-being, and promote high-quality development.
When visiting Hengli Hydraulic Co., Ltd. in Changzhou, Li called on the company to consistently innovate through opening up and cooperation. During exchanges with executives of local manufacturing enterprises, the premier highlighted the country's commitment to market-based inclusive policies to stimulate the corporate sector's innovation power.
Li also paid a visit to a residential community in Changzhou, where he learnt about services including elderly care and nursery and lauded local authorities' practice of introducing non-governmental resources to promote development of elderly care.
The premier also urged local authorities to do their utmost in creating conditions for flexible employment of the people.
Li was briefed on the reform and development of the Jiangsu pilot free trade zone or FTZ, and urged local authorities to advance institutional innovations, pool talent, and give full play to the role of the FTZ in pioneering reform and opening up.
When visiting Nanjing University, Li encouraged researchers to strengthen cross-disciplinary cooperation and promote integration of innovations.
When presiding over a symposium Thursday in Nanjing on the performance of the economy via video link with governors from five provinces, Li Keqiang called for improved financial services for the real economy, with the roll out of multiple measures to make it easier for smaller firms to obtain financing support at lower costs.
Li's remarks came as the premier pledged unrelenting policies to protect jobs, people's well-being and market entities, with accelerated steps to channel fiscal funds directly to primary-level government bodies.
He stressed the need to quicken the roll out of tax cuts and fee reductions for small and micro businesses and to find measures to scale up support to self-employed individuals.
He said that the high year-on-year economic growth rate at the beginning of this year can be attributed, to a large extent, to the low base from last year, and economic performance, judging from a month-on-month perspective, is generally stable.
Stabilizing economic fundamentals, avoiding large ups and downs and attaining steady and healthy growth are priorities, he said.
It is important to analyze the situation in a comprehensive, objective and levelheaded manner to properly guide market expectations, he added.
Li highlighted challenges from the complicated international landscape, especially quickly rising commodity prices, saying that the domestic economy is also confronted with problems such as heightened pressure on employment and the slow recovery of some sectors.
The government will strive to create more jobs, increase incomes and stabilize commodity prices, which are key priorities in keeping economic performance within a reasonable range.
The premier underscored that more work must be done to stimulate the vitality of China's 138 million market entities, including more than 90 million self-employed individuals.
It was the resilience of the market entities that shored up the economic recovery, the expansion of the job market and improvement in people's livelihoods, he said.
The government must focus its policies on the entities to promote their further recovery while continuing with measures to expand reform and opening-up to boost market vitality, he added.
He reiterated the importance of furthering the reform to streamline administration, bolster compliance oversight and government services to further cut red tape in administrative approvals for businesses and level the playing field.
The initiative to encourage innovation and starting new businesses must be stepped up to spawn more startups and spur the creativity of the public, he said.
Li underlined the need to make sound preparatory work for the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership agreement to better connect domestic and international markets and expand opening-up.
