Home

Special: Premier Li visits Fujian

Updated: 2015-04-27 15:45 By Yan Weijue
Comments
Special: Premier Li visits Fujian

Premier Li Keqiang visited Fujian province on April 22 - 24 to drive up reforms and bolster economic growth. This special takes a retrospective look at Li's trip and tries to sum up messages behind it.

Li lauded the achievements Fujian has made in economic and social development in recent years and hoped that it will rise as a new force, promote scientific development and bring real benefits to the people by taking advantage of its proximity to Taiwan and grasping the historical opportunity of building the free trade zone.

Special: Premier Li visits Fujian

Special: Premier Li visits Fujian

The Premier arrived straight from the airport in Xiamen and flew right into a visit to a comprehensive administration center at the Xiangyu Free Trade Port Zone, part of the Fujian Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ), where he inquired about new measures that simplify the business registration system. 

Enterprises that previously had to visit four departments for administrative approvals will be able to complete all the procedures through a new platform. >>>

Special: Premier Li visits Fujian

In the afternoon, Li inspected a handful of Taiwan-funded companies and presided over a seminar where he heard opinions from Taiwan entrepreneurs.

Li has pledged to continue existing preferential policies, including tax reductions, for Taiwan-invested companies to help them counteract a business recession brought about by the slowdown of the mainland economy and economic restructuring. >>>

Special: Premier Li visits Fujian

Li then toured Xiamen University, where he advised the students to read every day and said that the classics and the work of previous generations will broaden their horizons.

The Premier asked what was the university's "secret weapon" that allowed it to achieve an employment rate of 97 percent for graduates. He praised the fact that graduates from the university are capable of both attaining a good position in the workforce but are also willing to be flexible to garner experience. >>>

Special: Premier Li visits Fujian

Premier Li inspected two companies in Quanzhou, encouraging the upgrade of traditional sectors and Chinese manufacturing.

During his visit to Pin Shang E-commerce Co., the Premier praised the company’s new operation mode of "Internet Plus" — the integration of the Internet and traditional industries through online platforms and IT technology. He also visited the J-TECH CNC Machinery Co. and encouraged it to carry out the "Made in China 2025" program. >>>

Special: Premier Li visits Fujian

Li then travelled to Fuzhou, capital of Fujian, to revisit a relocated family he had met with seven years ago. He felt happy after seeing that the residents had moved into spacious and comfortable new homes and were living a better life.

 

Special: Premier Li visits Fujian

Li also inspected a branch of the Industrial Bank, where he urged banks to lower fees, reiterating that banks should further rationalize charges to reduce financing costs for businesses and help them weather the slowdown in economic growth.

He urged financial institutions to come up with more innovative and streamlined approaches to meet the needs of the real economy. >>>

Special: Premier Li visits Fujian

 

Special: Premier Li visits Fujian

Special: Premier Li visits Fujian

Li spent the last day touring the Three Lanes and Seven Alleys, a historic block in Fuzhou, where he visited the old residence of Yan Fu, a well-known scholar and translator in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

Culture is the root and soul of a city, the Premier said, adding that city planning and construction should be open and absorb modern elements and, at the same time, protect historical memories so as to turn the city into a place suitable to live and do business. >>>

 

Significance of Li's Visit to Fujian

Special: Premier Li visits Fujian
Li's visit, which came just one day after the Fujian Pilot FTZ was officially launched, was to promote reform, opening up and innovation.

Reform and opening up are the most important and effective measures to maintain stable economic growth and can help optimize and upgrade the economic structure, said the Premier, adding that FTZs are the highland of reforms.

The two words are always brought up together in official documents and have remained keys to the country's economic success for over two decades.

China has pinned high hopes on four FTZs (Fujian, Guangdong, Tianjin and Shanghai). The State Council recently approved a master plan for the Fujian Pilot FTZ which outlined goals for Fujian to become a leader in institutional innovation, cross-Straits cooperation and a core area on the modern maritime Silk Road.

One of the most prominent characteristics of China's FTZs is that they ease up investment rules for overseas investors, allowing them to enter more sectors, a move deemed to enhance market competition and subsequently push domestic reforms.

Li took the cross-border finance business as an example, saying that it will help reduce the cost of financing on the Chinese mainland.

 

Quotes from Li

Special: Premier Li visits Fujian

Special: Premier Li visits Fujian

Special: Premier Li visits Fujian

Special: Premier Li visits Fujian

 

Related Stories
Most Popular
...