China vows more cooperation with foreign firms to meet demand

As China becomes a middle income country, companies need to work together with foreign firms to develop new products to meet the growing individualized demands, said Premier Li Keqiang at the opening of World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Dalian, Liaoning province, on Thursday.

With the increasing number of wealthy population, imported goods or goods manufactured by imported assembly lines can no longer fit the taste of Chinese. People with consumption power need more personalized and diversified products, said Li.

Advanced foreign concepts, technologies, especially talents, are in need and the Chinese government will spare no efforts to protect intellectual property rights, Li said.

He recalled a road show at Dalian's incubator space where international venture capitalists showed interest in some of the projects, adding that he believed the cooperation will go beyond investment in exchange of ideas and technologies.

"The government will continue to make China into the most appealing investment destination," said Li.

With the theme "Charting a new course for growth", the three-day summit runs from Wednesday and more than 1,700 participants from 90 countries are expected to attend.