Chinese premier stresses reform amid efforts to stabilize economy

SHENYANG, March 27 -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has urged deepening reforms and economic restructuring so as to maintain the country's economy to grow at a reasonable pace.

Li made the remarks on Wednesday while presiding over a seminar on economic development in some provinces. The seminar, held in Liaoning Province, was attended by top officials from Liaoning, Zhejiang, Anhui and Guangdong provinces and Chongqing Municipality.

Li said reform is a crucial move in promoting development as it can stimulate the creativity of hundreds of millions of people.

Relevant authorities of the State Council, or the Cabinet, should further transform government functions, while local governments of all levels should study and explore the mode of negative-list management so as to loosen the control over the market, the premier said.

It is a basic requirement of macro-control to keep the economic development in a reasonable range, Li said, noting that China's economic development has shown some positive changes with a smooth start this year.

However, the difficulties and challenges such as the increasing pressure on a downward economy should not be neglected, he said.

Li said relevant and targeted measures should be rolled out step by step according to the tasks proposed in the government work report he delivered on March 5 at the annual parliamentary session.

"We have the capability, confidence and condition to maintain the economic growth in a reasonable range," he told the seminar.

Li said economic restructuring, as an important prop to stabilize growth, is conducive to the fostering and formation of new growth points with long-term competitiveness.

The economic growth should be upgraded with efforts in such areas as breaking up the urban-rural structure, narrowing the regional development gap, adjusting the industrial structure, and developing modern agriculture.

Li said China's economic achievement has benefited from the reform and opening-up, which the future development will continue to rely on.

He said China needs to adapt to the new changes of the global market, study and implement strategic new measures to encourage import and export, and put in place unified and standardized customs clearance of convenience.

Meanwhile, China should actively participate in global and regional economic cooperation, solicit foreign investment and encourage export of its high-end products, he added.

Li said the banking sector should play a more important role in bolstering the real economy.

The financing cost of the enterprises should be lowered through various ways such as the use of monetary policy tools, deepening reform of banking system, and developing multi-layer capital market, Li said.

He said improving people's wellbeing is the emphasis of government work. The government should work hard in such areas as increasing jobs, poverty relief in rural areas, and improving social security mechanism so as to let the people enjoy the achievement of development.