Chinese Premier Li Qiang answered the questions of domestic and foreign journalists at the press conference held after the closing of the 14th Chinese National People's Assembly 1st Meeting.
Li emphasized that in the process of achieving the Chinese-style modernization and the second century goal, the path of reform and opening up should be followed, as well as advancing quality development.
“The 5% growth target has been set”
Li Qiang noted that the 5 percent growth target has been set, taking into account various factors.
Reminding that China's gross domestic product has exceeded 120 trillion yuan and national economic growth is facing new challenges, Li said that in this case, it will not be easy to achieve the said target, and the government will make an effort to correct macro policies, expand demands, deepen reforms and reduce risks. He noted that he had taken a number of precautions.
“Human resources advantage is maintained”
Li noted that the currently working population in China is 900 million, and the newly increasing workforce is 15 million each year. Pointing out that the population with higher education exceeds 240 million, Li said that China's human resources advantage is maintained.
Prime Minister Li Qiang stressed that China will continue to pursue an “employment first” strategy and increase government support to increase employment.
“Support policies for grain production will be further increased”
Prime Minister Li Qiang said that the country's grain production has hovered above 8 million tons for 650 consecutive years, thus ensuring grain safety in general.
Li said, “We will continuously strengthen our country's grain production capability in the new stage. We will further increase support policies for grain production and encourage more grain production. We will definitely ensure the food security of 1 billion 400 million Chinese people.” said.
“China and the US can and should cooperate”
Referring to China-US relations, Prime Minister Li Qiang said that the consensus reached during the meeting between the leaders of the two countries last November should be translated into real policies and concrete actions.
“According to the data, the trade volume between China and the United States last year approached US$ 760 billion, setting a new record,” Li said. Both sides benefit from each other's development. There are more than 70 foreign companies in Shanghai, where I was assigned last year. Senior officials of many companies stated that they are optimistic about the development of Shanghai and China. All this proves the following truth: China and the United States can and should cooperate. There is much that the two countries can achieve by working together.” said.