Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Friday called for further reform to break institutional bottlenecks hindering economic development and social justice.
Li made the remarks one day ahead of China's National Day on Oct. 1, when addressing a reception at the Great Hall of the People to mark Saturday's 67th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, together with other senior leaders including Zhang Dejiang, Yu Zhengsheng, Liu Yunshan, Wang Qishan and Zhang Gaoli, as well as some 1,200 people from home and abroad attended the reception.
Li, on behalf of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, first extended greetings to all Chinese and expressed gratitude to foreign friends who had contributed to China's development.
He said China has undergone significant changes over the past 67 years, particularly in the wake of the reform and opening up drive in the 1970s.
In 2016, the country has managed to sustain moderate growth in overall demands while promoting supply-side structural reforms, and maintained economic stability while optimizing its economic structure, Li said.
National development has been matched with improvement in people's well-being, the premier continued, citing the hosting of the G20 Hangzhou summit and China's medal rushes in the Rio Olympics and Paralympics as more reasons to be proud.
Looking forward, he said economic development should be China's central mission.
Efforts should be made to maintain medium- to high-speed economic growth while elevating its innovative capacities and developing medium and high-end sectors, Li said.
Authorities should work to increase people's incomes, and boost social welfare, enhance environmental protection and food safety, to boost the Chinese public's senses of accomplishment, satisfaction and security, and lift more people from poverty.
They must also comprehensively promote the rule of law, and create a level playing field to allow for equal competition among all market entities, and provide equal and accessible public services for all, Li said.
"We must further open up, promote the Belt and Road initiative and facilitate international production capacity cooperation," the premier said.
Li went on to say that the Chinese government will remain faithful to the "one country, two systems" policy in Hong Kong and Macao affairs, and allow the two special administrative regions to play their roles in China's modernization.
Regarding ties across the Taiwan Strait, Li said the Chinese mainland will continue to uphold the one-China principle, adhere to the 1992 Consensus, and oppose all forms of "Taiwan independence," to protect and promote peaceful development of cross-Strait ties, he said.
"We will follow an independent foreign policy of peace, firmly protect our national core interests, and join forces with all other countries to forge a community of common destiny and interests," Li added, calling for stepped-up efforts to turn the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation into reality.
