BEIJING, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said Tuesday that supporting market entities, especially micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), as well as self-employed individuals, will help keep employment stable and secure the fundamentals of the Chinese economy, thus laying a solid foundation for China's future growth.

Li made the remarks when addressing the Special Virtual Dialogue with Global Business Leaders hosted by the World Economic Forum, with more than 500 business leaders attending the meeting.

Li noted that large numbers of MSMEs and self-employed individuals in a wide range of sectors have borne the brunt of the pandemic, leading to a huge impact on employment and livelihood of the low-income population.

He said that the 120 million market entities in China, including over 30 million MSMEs and over 87 million self-employed individuals, account for over 80 percent of urban jobs and provide for the livelihood of hundreds of millions of people.

"That is why the Chinese government has rolled out a targeted policy package to address their difficulties," said Li, adding that in particular, tax and fee cuts have brought the most notable benefits to market entities, and are expected to save more than 2.5 trillion yuan (about 366.5 billion U.S. dollars) for enterprises in the whole year.