Premier Li vows deeper reform

BEIJING - Premier Li Keqiang on Monday said stepped up reform will yield more systematic dividends and China's economy has a good foundation for sustainable and healthy growth.

China has huge domestic potential thanks to quick industrialization and urbanization, as well as its huge space for regional development, said Li at the ongoing 16th national congress of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions.

Its economy has shifted from high-speed growth to a new phase of  medium to high-speed growth, along with changes of inherent factors in economic growth and of exterior conditions, Li said.

To stabilize and boost economic growth, China must deepen and speed up reforms in various fields, and the reforms must focus on improving the quality and efficiency of growth and seeking a sustainable development,  Li said.

The reforms must transform China's economic growth model so that its development will be mainly driven by domestic needs and innovations while the fruit of the development must benefit the whole people, the premier said.

The government has been promoting stable economic growth through restructuring and reform, Li said, but risks and challenges persist and  the foundation of sustainable and stable economic growth should be consolidated, Li said.

China is confident of meeting this year's growth target, Li said.

Gross domestic product climbed 7.8 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, well above the full-year target of 7.5 percent, the second quarter's 7.5 percent or the first quarter's 7.7 percent.

Li called for efforts to protect workers' rights, particularly those migrant workers.

Issues concerning basic social securities, such as pension, medical insurance, subsistence allowances and housing must be properly addressed, he said.