With the Chinese Spring Festival just around the corner, Premier Li Keqiang held a symposium with foreign experts who work in China on Feb 5.

On behalf of the Chinese government, Premier Li offered his sincere wishes and greetings to several foreign experts, including Edmund S Phelps, Nobel Prize winner in economic sciences and dean of the New Huadu Business School at Minjiang University; Jürgen Fleischer, academician of the German Academy of Engineering and director of the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Center at Tongji University and John Hopcroft, Turing Award winner, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a professor at Peking University.

They shared ideas and advice with the Premier on transformation and upgrade and high-quality development of the Chinese economy, “Made in China 2025” and cultivation of creative talent, international talent training and educational reform, as well as environmental protection.

China’s economy expanded at a 6.9 percent pace in 2017 - faster than expected and the first increase in seven years - and contributed more than 30 percent of world economic growth, according to Premier Li.

In addition, China’s economic structure has been improving, with consumption contributing nearly 60 percent of economic growth and the number of newly-added urban jobs surpassing 13.5 million. To build a modern economic system, China will continue with supply-side structural reform while preparing for all kinds of risks and challenges.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening-up, the Premier said, adding that China should take this opportunity to further streamline administration and delegate power to lower levels, implement an innovation-driven strategy, and encourage mass entrepreneurship and innovation to pursue high-quality growth.

Premier Li also emphasized that as China opens wider to the outside world, more favorable visa and residence permit policies will be introduced to attract foreign talent. Foreign experts are expected to provide insights on China’s development, to participate in its industrial upgrading and restructuring, and to share its development opportunities, the Premier said.

Vice-Premier Ma Kai and State Councilors Yang Jiechi and Yang Jing attended the event.