China’s economy showed signs of recovery with stable footing, Premier Li Keqiang said at a symposium to seek experts' and business leaders' advice on the economy's performance on July 13.

He extended greetings to the attendees, saying that all suggestions and advice are welcome. After hearing the reports, Premier Li urged related departments to study the suggestions and adopt as many of the feasible ones as possible.

This year’s sudden epidemic has affected much more than expected in its spread range and impact on the global economy, bringing unprecedented influence on China’s economy, the Premier said. Currently, he said, the COVID-19 epidemic has been effectively controlled in China and the economy is picking up strength as business and work are getting back on track.

He said this demonstrates the strong resilience and buffer space of China's economy, and consolidates firm confidence in its development, while he warned of the huge challenge that the economy is facing.

With mounting uncertainties in the international environment and the challenges faced by the domestic economy, especially in the job market, the country must remain prepared for tough battles, he said.

The Premier called for efforts to carry out regular epidemic control measures, ensure stability in six fronts and security in six areas, fully implement the policies of a sizable scale to ease corporate burdens and stimulate market vitality.

According to the Premier, efforts also should be made for further reform and opening-up, and stabilize economic fundamentals and people's livelihoods to effectively prevent risks and meet annual economic and social development goals.

Mechanism to direct fiscal funds to enterprises for fast support

At the symposium, experts said the tax cuts and inclusive financing have significantly reduced the burden for enterprises and help them accumulate sufficient funds to live through the COVID-19 epidemic.

"Our tax and fee reduction policies mainly benefit micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises," Premier Li said, adding that the 30 million micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and more than 80 million private businesses are the main employers in the market.

He stressed the timeliness and effectiveness of macro policies to support employment, livelihoods and market players.

To ensure stability in six fronts, Premier Li said, the proactive fiscal policy, prudent monetary policy, and employment-first policy should be fully implemented with more cuts in fees and taxes for enterprises.

With a direct transfer mechanism, new fiscal funds could directly go to the primary level and enterprises to save them out of difficulties, Premier Li noted.

In terms of financial policies, Premier Li called for reasonable liquidity to solve difficult financing for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. He also encouraged the application of modern technology in inclusive finance to raise credit expansion at lower costs.

While talking about employment of university graduates and migrant workers, Premier Li said differentiated tax and financial support should be provided to labor-intensive enterprises to secure employment.

Reform and opening-up still strong to drive development

Entrepreneurs at the symposium said despite the impact of the pandemic, their sales and revenue have increased significantly.

Premier Li stressed insisting on reform and opening-up to fully inspire the vitality of market entities and enhance development resilience.

He added that reforms to streamline administration, delegate powers and improve the business environment should be deepened to let the market play a decisive and bigger role in resources allocation and better fulfill the government’s role.

He also called for more efforts to improve innovation and the start-up climate, attract more talent, boost the industrial internet, generate new business forms through the integrated development of large, medium and small enterprises, and to cultivate new strengths to participate in international competition and cooperation with further opening-up.

New forms of business and driving forces have played a vital role in China's economic recovery since the pandemic, Premier Li said.

He stressed reform measures for more consumption potential, such as expanding sales of agricultural products and domestic consumption of export-oriented products through online and offline integration, enriching the supply of quality commodities and guiding consumption upgrades.

While hearing that the sales of middle-end products showed sluggish trends from an entrepreneur, Premier Li said multiple efforts must be made to increase the income of the low-income group, and expand the middle-income group.

Government investment should play a role in driving the participation of social capital and promoting construction of major projects - especially new infrastructure and new urbanization initiatives and major projects - to increase employment with effective investment, he added.