Chinese Premier Li Qiang delivered a speech during the opening plenary session at the 15th Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Dalian on Tuesday
INTRODUCTION
Chinese Premier Li Qiang delivered a speech during the opening plenary session at the 15th Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Dalian on Tuesday.
This year’s forum, which is also known as the Summer Davos, will feature the theme “Next Frontiers for Growth”.
Follow our live coverage of the opening session as it unfolded.
And that’s all from Li
That’s it for Li Qiang. He hands over to Polish President Andrzej Duda.
Li reiterates appeal to foreign firms
From Ji Siqi and Frank Tang
Li concludes by summing up the main points of his speech, with a focus on China’s appeal to overseas businesses.
“First, we have a massive market. Second, we have a complete industrial chain. Lots of ideas can be tested in China. And to develop new industries, we should rely on enterprises.”
Li’s ‘three factors’ for next-gen tech
From Ji Siqi and Frank Chen
Li, responding to a question from World Economic Forum chairman Klaus Schwab, talks about next steps for tech.
“All countries attach great importance to new technologies, and China is no exception,” he says. “I think we should take into consideration three factors: the characteristics of new technologies and new industries, China’s national conditions, and the unique advantages of different places.
“We have strongly supported foundational research and development work, and we should create sufficient application scenarios.”
Li: China’s ‘healthy’ ageing still requires response
From Ji Siqi and Frank Chen
Li is now addressing the problem of China’s ageing population. He begins with some positives.
“We should put ageing in perspective. With the improvement of healthcare, this is a positive ageing, what I call a healthy ageing. The elderly are a valuable resource for society,” he says.
However, he adds, structural changes in population still require a response – one that he says the government is taking up in several areas.
“We need to take a long-term perspective in response to these issues. We are working to improve the elderly care system, and supporting the development of the ‘silver economy’.
“I think an effective response cannot only help us better respond to ageing, but also foster new growth drivers.”
‘Where we are going we will take a combination of policy measures’
From Frank Chen
Li also talks about China’s large-scale trade-in scheme to upgrade its stock of industrial equipment and drive spending on consumer goods
“So, for many major issues, one single policy simply won’t work. Where we are going we will take a combination of policy measures and instruments so that we can have stronger and more robust measures,” he says.
“This year we are advancing the large-scale equipment, upgrading and consumer-goods-trading programme.
“This is a very typical example of a policy combination. It would not only expand investment but also promote industrial upgrading.”
China’s economy suffered ‘illness’ in pandemic
From Ji Siqi, Frank Chen and Frank Tang
When addressing China’s post-pandemic economic recovery, Premier Li Qiang compares the country to a recovering patient, and says it needs to solve its issues with targeted measures and a gradual recovery.
“During the pandemic, the economy had a big illness,” he says.
“It has just recovered, and we cannot inject strong medicine now. I believe the most fundamental thing is how to properly handle the relationships between short-term and long-term, and between symptoms and root causes.
“In traditional Chinese medicine, it’s called keeping the roots healthy.”
For full timeline: Chinese Premier Li Qiang delivered a speech during the opening plenary session at the 15th Annual Meeting of the New Champions in Dalian on Tuesday
