"What we are watching right now is a transition of the economy to more consumption, more services and less dependency on investment," Rich Lesser, CEO of management consultants Boston Consulting Group, said during a Summer Davos session.
WAVE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Creativity is the biggest resource for development in China, where "a nationwide wave of innovation and entrepreneurship" has emerged involving skilled personnel and migrant workers, the premier said.
The Chinese government has introduced measures including tax reductions and streamlined government administration to spur business startups. Last week, it set up a development fund worth 60 billion yuan (9.4 billion U.S. dollars) for small and medium-sized enterprises.
China has a work force of 900 million people, with seven million new graduates hitting the job market each year. More graduates are choosing to start their own businesses and they are an important force that China can rely on for stable growth, Li said.
Li related a visit he made to an outstanding small tech enterprise in Dalian on Wednesday. The micro-controller company only has 10 full-time employees but has managed to attract 280,000 registered online users in two years and develop more than 100 products.
The company is working to upgrade 30,000 outdated machines in factories lying idle in the former heavy industry base of northeast China, so as to put these facilities back into productive use.
There are tens of thousands of similar companies in China that can achieve their dreams by pooling their wisdom and resources, Li said. "They deserve the title of 'new champions.'"
He noted that more than 10,000 new companies are registered every day and they in turn become job-providers; this explains China's robust job creation despite economic headwinds.
In a question and answer session, Li said that Chinese enthusiasm for innovation and entrepreneurship has drawn the world's attention. "This will bring in capital, as well as advanced ideas and technologies," he said.
The premier pledged reforms to allow for more partnerships between the government and private investors from China and abroad. "It is no longer just the government's show," Li said.
Meanwhile, Li vowed that China will continue to try hard to protect intellectual property rights, as better IPR protection is crucial to attracting international investment and encouraging local companies' creativity.
STRONGER INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
Li called for stronger international cooperation in production capacity in order to solve structural problems in global growth.
Countries at different development stages can connect their demand and supply and inject new vitality to the world's economy in the cooperation, said Li.
As a manufacturing powerhouse, China can supply developing countries with high-quality equipment at low price with advanced technology purchased from developed countries and provide developing nations, serving as a bridge in international cooperation in production capacity.
Li cited China's "Belt and Road" initiative as an example of the country's expanding international cooperation in production capacity.
China has clarified 12 major industries for international industrial cooperation, including steel, shipbuilding, railways and electric power, and established funds to support such cooperation.
Statistics show that China's investment in the 48 countries along the belt and road grew 22.2 percent to reach 7 billion U.S. dollars in the first half of the year.
