Full Text: Premier Li Keqiang meets business representatives at Summer Davos(3)

Arif Naqvi, Founder and CEO of the Abraaj Group: Thank you Your Excellency for having this open dialogue with us. My question relates to FDI and investment environment. A lot of multinational companies are paying very close attention with doubt to the openness of China's domestic economy. Some are concerned about the Chinese government's policy change to foreign investment in the country, their diminishing advantage in investing in China and intellectual property rights protection. What new measures will the Chinese government take to boost FDI?

Li Keqiang: On the whole, there has been no change in China's overall policy on FDI. But in specific areas, there have been new steps taken or new measures introduced. These steps have opened more areas to foreign investors and will help China attract more foreign investment. For example, the number of items where restrictions were imposed on foreign investment access has been slashed by 50%. We are also taking steps to facilitate foreign investment. We have replaced past practice of comprehensive review and approval with the practice of record keeping. The number of items requiring government approval only accounts for 5% of the total. We are promoting a management model based on pre-establishment national treatment and a negative list approach. We are conducting BIT reviews with the United States and the European Union, and FTA negotiations with many countries. Foreign investment will be able to get into more areas in an easier way in China. We are also becoming more capable of attracting foreign direct investment. With global foreign investment in decline, FDI flowing into China still grew by 7.7% in the first half of this year.

In the meantime, we are pursuing innovation-driven development and encouraging mass entrepreneurship and innovation. This requires that we better protect intellectual property rights and ensure that there is a level-playing field for all market entities. All foreign invested companies registered in China will be treated as equals as their Chinese counterparts, be they joint ventures or solely owned foreign companies. But don't get me wrong: this does not mean that foreign companies which are not registered in China will not have their intellectual property protected in China. Otherwise, it is against not only Chinese laws but also internationally accepted practices.

Thank you.

Feike Sijbesma, Chairman and CEO of DSM: The Chinese government in recent period has shown strong resolve to address climate change and fight pollution. We hope step by step Beijing will get cleaner air. My question is what are the challenges China is facing in addressing climate change and pollution? And while addressing that, can you maintain your economic growth? Or is pollution a precondition for maintaining economic growth?

Li Keqiang: As we both have only limited time, allow me to give a brief answer to your question. The biggest challenge China faces in controlling pollution is that China is still a large developing country, yet it needs to shift the growth model and assume due international responsibilities in tackling climate change. There is a certain conflict of interests, and we need to strike a balance between the two. Not long ago, China announced its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution. China faces tremendous pressure in meeting these goals and will have to make enormous efforts. However, now that we have made those commitments, we will deliver on our commitment with concrete actions.

The Chinese government is taking steps to advance ecological conservation. In particular, we are intensifying efforts to save energy, cut emissions and control pollution. In the first half of this year, we managed to bring down per unit GDP energy consumption by 5.9%. We will continue to shift the growth model and promote green development. As China steps up efforts in environmental protection, the growth speed may have been affected. This may have caused concerns that the economy is slowing down and the real economy is being affected. We are working hard to foster green and energy-efficient industries that can be new drivers of growth, such as "Internet plus" and other new business models and industries. But again this needs a process.

Thank you.

Patrice Motsepe, Founder and Executive Chairman of African Rainbow Minerals: China's economic development has contributed to the success of many economies in the world. Africa, in particular, has benefited immensely from China's economic growth. So we want China to continue succeeding, because the world needs China to continue succeeding. You have repeatedly said that urbanization is the biggest driver of China's economic development. China's urbanization is facing new challenges like transport, infrastructure construction and the real estate market. How will the Chinese government push forward the new urbanization strategy? And how can foreign companies contribute to this process?

Li Keqiang: The current urbanization rate in China stands at about 55%. Among residents in urban areas, a large portion of them are not permanent urban residents, but a floating population. There will be a long process for China to achieve urbanization amidst the pursuit of industrialization. This also represents enormous space of domestic demand in China. China's rapid urbanization has not been all problem-free. For example, we still have about 100 million people living in urban rundown areas. These people deserve more decent living conditions. So we will continue to rebuild these run-down areas on a large scale. We will also further improve our underground infrastructure. In this respect, we need to draw on the experience of countries that have completed urbanization. We are taking steps to enhance urban underground utility pipeline network.

We also need to improve our urban development plans. China and the EU have established a partnership on urbanization. We wish to draw on the experience of both developed and developing countries, and enhance international cooperation in urbanization. I believe that each country has its own unique strength and comparative advantage to offer in this process.

The Cape of Good Hope in South Africa is very well known to the Chinese people. I visited a local company in Dalian this morning which actually named itself after this place in South Africa, hoping that this name will help the company attract more talented people and gain more managerial expertise and technology. China wants to work with South Africa to enhance our cooperation for win-win results.

Thank you. Endi