Vital to lower institutional costs

When meeting a delegation of business leaders from the United States in Beijing on Tuesday, Premier Li Keqiang said China will gradually expand its market access and further optimize its business environment to raise the competitiveness of the country's economy.

Li's remarks came only days after he stressed in a teleconference that the business environment is a productive force and local governments should transform themselves from the suppliers of preferential policies into the creators of a fair business environment.

It is under the persistent efforts of the central government that China's business environment has improved in recent years.