Premier Li Qiang reiterated on Tuesday the need for innovation-driven development to consolidate and further boost the momentum of the Chinese economy's upturn and foster new growth drivers.

Li made the remarks when chairing a symposium on the economic situation attended by experts and entrepreneurs in Beijing. The meeting aimed to gather opinions and suggestions regarding the current economic situation and future economic work.

The meeting came ahead of the third plenary session of the 20th Communist Party of China Central Committee, a key reform meeting that is scheduled for next week.

During the symposium, experts and business executives shared their views on the economic work, acknowledging the challenging external environment and highlighting the continuous improvement of the Chinese economy.

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The country achieved GDP growth of 5.3 percent in the first quarter despite challenges, with overall price levels and employment remaining stable

While emphasizing the acceleration of new driving forces as well as hard-won achievements, they offered suggestions to address prominent problems in economic operations.

Addressing the meeting, Li said that since the start of this year, efforts have been made to promote high-quality development, intensify macroeconomic regulation and accelerate the development of new quality productive forces.

Overall economic operations have remained stable with a continuous upgrade in economic structure, he said.

The country achieved GDP growth of 5.3 percent in the first quarter despite challenges, with overall price levels and employment remaining stable.

In its latest China Economic Update released last month, the World Bank raised its prediction for China's GDP growth rate this year by 0.3 percentage point to 4.8 percent.

Noting that the factors affecting economic growth have become more complicated than ever before, the premier emphasized the need for an analysis of the economic situation in line with reality, taking into account both achievements and challenges, in order to make decisions in a scientific manner.
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Consistent efforts should be made to implement effective macroeconomic policies to achieve the target set for this year's economic growth, he said.

To enhance the positive trend of economic recovery, Li stressed the need to leverage the role of enterprises, provide targeted policy support and facilitate breakthroughs in core technologies in key fields.

It is important to conduct reforms of unfavorable systems and mechanisms, mobilize proactive and creative initiatives across all sectors, unleash the full innovative potential of the whole society, and organize and utilize various resources effectively so that innovative forces will be unleashed consistently, he said.

The premier encouraged entrepreneurs to remain confident about the country's economy, focus on innovative development and strive to strengthen their enterprises.

He also urged experts and scholars to take a forward-looking approach and conduct systematic research to contribute more wisdom to the country's development.