Premier Li Keqiang Meets the Press: Full Transcript of Questions and Answers

Xinhua News Agency: You have repeatedly stressed the importance of energizing market entities and leveraging their key role in driving economic development. At present, we are seeing that some market entities are still faced with difficulties or obstacles in terms of their production and operations, in fair competition and the market environment. What reform measures will the government take this year to alleviate their difficulties and revitalize those market entities?

Premier Li: The centerpiece of our reform last year was to align our macro policies with the needs of market entities to provide them with relief and energize them in bid to consolidate the fundamentals of China's economy. Over the past 40 years of reform and opening-up, we have been developing a socialist market economy to boost market entities so that the market can play its decisive role in allocating resources and the government can better play its role. During the 13th Five-Year Plan period, over 60 million new market entities were registered. Last year, especially in its latter half, with the economic rebound, we saw another upsurge in the number of new market entities. Now there are some 130 million market entities in China. Last year, the number of self-employed individuals increased by over 10 million, rising from 80 million to the current 90 million, providing 200 million job opportunities. So the important purpose of China's reform agenda is to energize market entities.

We will continue to keep our policies well-aligned with the needs of market entities. This year, we will continue to reform government functions to better help market entities survive and thrive. Last year, we said we would help keep market entities afloat. This year we will work to sustain and revitalize the market actors, as their survival and thrival is critical for the vitality and resilience of China's economy. An important part of the reform of government functions is to allow market entities to make their own decisions wherever necessary. We will continue to streamline administrative review processes in terms of procedures, documents, fees and time needed to lessen the burdens on market entities and free up more space for them to compete freely on the market.

Competition needs to happen on a level-playing field. We will improve our regulation to ensure fairness on the market so that market entities can better show their creativity and innovation. We will streamline administration and also enhance supervision and regulation. That includes developing new regulatory approaches and enhancing compliance oversight. Those are all part of the reform package. We will continue to support the Internet Plus model and the Internet of Things as new forms of industry and business. We will combat such malpractices as cheating of marketplace, counterfeiting, acts of bad faith, fraud, and illegal fund-raising in the name of new forms of industry, because these malpractices disrupt market order and undermine fairness. Without fairness, neither competition nor market vitality would be possible.

The government will deliver better services and foster an enabling environment for all companies who put quality first, act in good faith and concentrate on making their products and services more competitive. As for those high-demand government services, we will work hard to make them accessible on-line through smart phones on a one-stop basis to better energize market entities and boost social creativity.

TVBS of Taiwan: Early this year, Taiwan expressed hope for resumed cross-Strait exchanges with the mainland in the post-COVID era. However, so far, we have yet to see signs of an easing situation across the Taiwan Strait. What is the view of the mainland on the current situation? And what does the mainland intend to do in the future?

Premier Li: Our principle and policy towards Taiwan have been consistent and clear-cut. We remain committed to the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus. On that basis, we welcome exchanges with any political party or group from Taiwan, and we welcome dialogue with any party, group or personage of Taiwan on cross-Strait relations and future of the nation. We will continue to promote peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and China's reunification. We are opposed to any form of separatist activities seeking "Taiwan independence" and foreign interference in cross-Strait affairs.

We always believe that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one and the same family. That is why in recent years, we have introduced a series of policies that benefit Taiwan companies and compatriots, and many have benefited from such policy measures. We will continue to enable Taiwan compatriots to share in the development opportunities on the mainland and promote integrated development across the Taiwan Strait.