China able to meet economic goals this year: premier

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday expressed China's confidence in achieving its goals for economic development in 2015.

"We will be able to meet the main goals and tasks of economic and social development for this year," said Li while addressing a reception held at the Great Hall of the People to mark the 66th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, together with the rest five members of the seven-member Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, and some 1,100 people from home and abroad attended the reception.

Li said facing a sluggish world economy and mounting downward pressure at home, China has adopted effective range-based, targeted and discretionary macro-regulation to ensure that China's economy continues to move in a positive direction despite some ups and downs.

"The economy still operates within a reasonable range, with the quality of development further improved and systemic risks effectively checked, " Li said.

The premier said as the world's second biggest economy, it is not easy for China to maintain a growth rate of around seven percent on the 10 trillion U.S. dollars GDP baseline, and it will be even more challenging to build a brighter future from the new starting point.

"Facing opportunities and challenges, we must bear in mind our mission and the great trust people have placed on us, meet people's expectations in our work of governance, and continue to push forward reform, opening-up and socialist modernization drive," Li said.

Stressing that development is the surest way leading to national renewal and the top priority for China, Li said the government must further innovate the model of macro-regulation, actively expand domestic demand and adjust the structure of development in order to ensure a medium-high level of development.

Calling reform and opening-up the source of drive in development, Li encouraged the government steadfastly deepen reforms across the board.

"By driving the economy forward with innovation through such schemes as mass entrepreneurship and innovation, we can find additional pools of talent and resources and foster new drivers of growth," he said.

He called for wider opening-up to the outside world, participation in global competition and cooperation at a higher and broader level, and a win-win development.

People's wellbeing is the scale to measure the effectiveness of reforms and development, said Li.

He said the government must make every effort necessary to increase employment and need to open up more ways to raise household income.

The government must address people's difficulties to ensure that children from poor families will no longer have to drop out of school, ordinary citizens will not be driven into despair by serious illness and young people, full of dreams to make innovation or to start their own business, will not be deprived of the opportunity because of unnecessary formalities, the premier said.

The government will also keep up efforts to improve the environment, thus delivering a greater sense of happiness to our people, Li added.

On the rule of law, Li said the government must fully advance China's law-based governance, speed up the building of a law-based government and a society on the basis of the rule of law, all to make the rule of law a key safeguard for social progress.

When it comes to Hong Kong and Macao, the premier reiterated that the central government will adhere to the principles of "one country, two systems,""the people of Hong Kong administering Hong Kong,""the people of Macao administering Macao" and a high-degree of autonomy, support Hong Kong and Macao in ensuring prosperity, stability and harmony and continued progress.

"We will stay committed to the basic policy of peaceful reunification as the basis of "one country, two systems," and join our Taiwan compatriots in defending the overall national interests, sharing opportunities of development, carrying forward the common cultural heritage and building a community of shared future across the Straits," Li went on.

He added that China will stay firm on the path of peaceful development and win-win cooperation, expand its converging interests with the rest of the world and work together to usher in a new era of peace and development of mankind. Endi