CHINA will be able to fulfill the tasks and goals for the whole year and complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, Premier Li Keqiang said during a press conference via video link at the Great Hall of the People after the conclusion of the annual session of the country’s top legislature in Beijing on Thursday.

“We will do our utmost to keep China’s economic growth stable and at the same time we must ensure that all measures taken are well calibrated,” Li said.

China will not resort to massive economic stimulus, but will instead use targeted boosting policies to achieve tangible gains for its people. It will strive to achieve positive economic growth this year after securing employment and people’s livelihoods, the premier said, adding that the country is looking to achieve a certain level of positive growth.

China will spend money to offer vital relief to businesses in a bid to help employment and livelihoods so citizens can have money to spend and consumption can drive the economy, he said, highlighting that such a proper management of funds is in line with the country’s market-oriented reform.

When asked about China not setting a specific GDP growth target for this year, Li said that the decision is realistic on the grounds that the global economy has been badly hit due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“China’s economy has been deeply integrated into the international economy. It is impossible for China’s economy to stay immune to the pandemic impacts,” he said.

Instead of setting a specific GDP growth target, China has established a series of goals and tasks in six areas that closely connect with its economic growth, especially in employment, people’s basic needs and market entity, he noted.

The purpose is to deliver real gains to people and economic development still holds the key position to problems faced by China, according to Li.

He said employment matters most in people’s lives and China will step up efforts to stabilize employment this year. The country will make efforts to add about 10,000 newly registered market entities on a daily basis this year.

He said China will cut over 50 percent of all outlays on nonobligatory expenditures at the Central Government level.

The country reserves policy space on the fiscal, financial, social security and other fronts and is in a strong position to quickly introduce new measures without any hesitation should the situation call for it, Li said, adding that it is essential to keep China’s economic development on a steady course.

Keeping China’s economic fundamentals stable in itself will be a contribution to the whole world and China will remain a positive force driving global economic recovery and growth, he said.

China is open to international cooperation on the research and development of vaccines, medicines and testing reagents for COVID-19, and is willing to share the deliverables with the world, he said.

The international community is now facing the dual challenges of containing the spread of the virus and restoring economy and social order, Li said, stressing the importance of international cooperation in fighting COVID-19 and restoring economy to ensure victory over the epidemic.

There has been no loss of life to COVID-19 among Taiwan compatriots working and living on the Chinese mainland, according to him.

China-U.S. ties are facing new problems and new challenges, and must use wisdom to expand common interests and properly manage differences and disagreements, he said.

There are opportunities for the two sides to cooperate in both traditional and nontraditional areas. There are also extensive exchanges between the two countries in the fields of trade and economics, science and technologies, and culture, Li pointed out.

The economies of China and the United States are closely intertwined, and the businesses of the two countries need each other.

A few days ago, a high-tech American firm initiated a new investment project in Central Chinese city of Wuhan, according to Li.

“This example shows that the business communities of our two countries need each other and our business cooperation can achieve win-win results,” he said.

China-U.S. decoupling does no good to either side and will harm the world as the two countries are major economies, according to him.

The Chinese nation has the wisdom and capabilities to handle its own affairs, Li said. The Taiwan question is China’s internal affair and China has always opposed external interference.

“Our major principles and policies on Taiwan are consistent and well known to the world,” Li said, stressing upholding the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus while resolutely opposing “Taiwan independence.”

“On this political basis, we are ready to have dialogue and consultation with political parties, groups and people in Taiwan on cross-Straits relations and the future of the Chinese nation, so as to promote the peaceful development across the Straits and advance the peaceful reunification of China,” Li said. “We are ready to show maximum sincerity and do our utmost.”

Li expressed his belief that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a proposed free trade agreement between the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), will be signed as scheduled this year.

(SD-Xinhua)