TIANJIN - Despite unavoidable short-term fluctuations in growth during transition, the Chinese economy will not suffer a "hard landing", Premier Li Keqiang said on Monday.
"We can deliver the major targets of economic and social development set for 2016," he said when addressing the opening ceremony of the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2016, or the Summer Davos Forum, in Tianjin.
Chinese economy continued to grow stably in the second quarter of the year, following a 6.7-percent expansion in the first three months, said Li.
Innovation
China will encourage innovation as the world's second largest economy presses for supply-side structural reforms, Li said Monday.
"We will continue to build China into an innovation-driven country by using innovative concepts, growing new economy and fostering new growth," Li said.
Li said China will continue to promote mass entrepreneurship and "the Internet Plus" initiative to foster new growth engines.
The country's promotion of entrepreneurship and innovation will bring together innovative activities by people from both the elite circle and the grass-root level, online and offline, as well as business and research institutes, the Premier said.
Brexit
Premier Li said that China is committed to maintaining and developing well the relations between China and the European Union as well as the relations between China and the United Kingdom.
China expects a solidary and stable EU, and also a stable and prosperous UK, the Premier said.
"I also want to say here that Europe is an important partner for cooperation with China, and China will continue to dedicate itself to maintaining the good development of Sino-Europe and Sino-British ties," Li said.
"We would like to see a united, stable EU, and a stable, prosperous Britain," he added.
"Against the backdrop of globalisation, it's impossible for each country to talk about its own development discarding the world economic environment."
Overcapacity
China will cut excess capacity in steel and coal as part of its economic structural reform, Li Keqiang vowed.
The government will continue to focus especially on supply-side structural reform by reducing supply of inefficient and low-end products and services while encouraging more in-demand and premium ones, a process that will boost economic growth, Li told delegates at the forum.
An important part of the supply-side reform is cutting excess capacity in sectors including steel and coal, and this will be further pushed mainly "with a market-oriented and law-abiding approach," he said.
According to the premier, governments and enterprises will take measures to reemploy steel workers and coal miners made redundant.
"Overcapacity is a global challenge and China stands ready to be a responsible country with all these proactive measures," he said.
The government will reform on its own services to cut red tape and regulate emerging sectors or business models, Li said.
He also promised that China will make adjustments in fiscal, financial and investment areas to guide support towards the real economy, deepen reforms in state-owned enterprises and give private firms more access to the market.
