Veep calls for innovation

Li: It’s needed to drive economic restructuring

SHANGHAI: Vice-premier Li Keqiang has called for speeding up economic restructuring and industrial upgrading with new efforts in reform and opening-up and via innovation.

Li made the remarks during an inspection tour in Shanghai, the country’s eastern economic hub, from Thursday to Friday, during which he visited local enterprises and research institutes as well as residential communities to solicit opinions on reform and development and people’s livelihood.

Li said innovation, the lifeline of an enterprise, also acts as an important engine to the expansion of domestic demand, industrial upgrading and growth mode transformation.

Stressing that innovation would bring more quality and competitive development, Li urged enterprises to adopt innovative minds and innovate technology, products, management and related mechanisms. When visiting CBI China, a Shanghai-based commodity information agency, Li said increased efforts should be made to develop the service sector, especially modern service industry, making the “short slab” a new growth area for the economy and an important driver for innovation.

The country’s developed areas and cities, in particular, should speed up development of the service sector, building the sector into a pillar industry for the local economy, Li said.

Li also urged developed eastern coastal regions, whose growth depends more on global markets, to step up restructuring efforts.

The vice-premier also visited local affordable housing projects and community health service centres, calling for local governments to ensure the quality and distribution of affordable homes, and further pushing forward the country’s basic medical insurance system.