Reform and opening-up will continue

Premier Li Keqiang presented the Government Work Report to the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, on the first day of its annual session on Monday, which summarized China's achievements in the last five years and laid out plans and targets for this year.

After several years of economic slowdown, China's economy began a new growth cycle last year, with its GDP growing by 6.9 percent, enterprises' profits increasing by 21 percent, and trade volumes rising by 14.2 percent.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up, and Li announced several new reform initiatives in his speech. For international observers, perhaps the most important is China's pledge to continue reform and opening-up.