Nation will learn from others, premier says

Li tells overseas experts that they should continue to make positive suggestions

China will open up more to the world and learn from other countries' advanced technologies and management experiences, Premier Li Keqiang said on Friday during a meeting with overseas experts in Beijing.

The world's second-largest economy will firmly promote reforms and stimulate the vitality and creativity of more than 100 million market entities, Li told a number of expats from countries including the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Cuba and Sweden.

Administrative streamlining will be pushed forward, as will reductions in taxes and fees, Li said. He reiterated that market access will be expanded for all players, and China will create a business environment of equal treatment and fair competition.

Goods and technologies from other countries are welcome to enter China, which will strictly protect intellectual property rights and accelerate the transformation of technological innovation into useful products, Li said.

Several speakers, including Paul Romer, co-recipient of the 2018 Nobel Prize in economics, shared their suggestions on economic growth, technological innovation, smart manufacturing and environmental protection. The premier responded to each speaker.

Li thanked the foreign experts for their long-term support for China's reform and opening-up, as well as their suggestions for the draft of the Government Work Report, which is planned for March during the annual session of the National People's Congress, the top legislative body.

Li said the Chinese economy was in stable condition and made progress last year. GDP was up by 6.6 percent year-on-year, and there was full employment and better environmental protection despite a complex international situation, he said.

Although China faces a number of challenges and risks this year, Li said he had confidence in keeping the national economy within a reasonable range, considering the huge potential of the Chinese market with its nearly 1.4 billion consumers and rich human resources.

At the end of the event, Li said overseas experts are welcome to work in China, and the government will further improve services and management to make expats' lives and work here easier. He also called on expats to continue to make suggestions and help boost the common development of China and the rest of the world.