BEIJING, March 22 -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang said Friday that continuous efforts should be made to promote the prevention and resolution of local government debt risks.

Defusing the debt risks will be a tough and protracted battle, Li said during a video conference.

All regions and government departments should strengthen their sense of responsibility to resolve existing debt risks and prevent new debt risks, Li said.

Efforts should be made to defuse risks on financing platforms and clear outstanding payments owed to enterprises, he said.

He also noted the importance of efforts to build a government debt management mechanism in accordance with high-quality development, fine-tune the investment and financing systems of local governments, and improve the long-term mechanism to prevent outstanding payments.