Li: Safeguard use of public assets

Premier speaks on clean governance, development at State Council meeting

Officials should work to ensure the safe and effective use of public assets by pushing forward clean governance and creating a sound environment for China's social and economic development, Premier Li Keqiang said.

Li made the remark as he spoke at a State Council meeting on clean governance on Friday. The meeting was the first of its kind since the State Council, China's Cabinet, was renewed in March.

Efforts need to be made both in curbing risks in the financial sector and in fighting against corruption, Li said.

Significant results have been achieved in comprehensively strengthening the discipline of the Communist Party of China and in anti-graft work, with continued efforts being made by governments at all levels in transforming government functions, rectifying work styles, devolving powers and limiting the misuse of power in the past five years, Li said. Yet problems such as corruption still exist in some areas, he said.

The government needs to play a proper and more effective role in improving China's environment of doing business by moving forward with governmental self-reform, ensuring that the market plays a decisive role in allocating resources, Li stressed.

Public resources need to be traded in transparency, and it is the government's responsibility to ensure the safety of public funds, Li said. He spoke to officials who attended the Friday meeting both at the Zhongnanhai leadership compound in Beijing and through television and telephone conferencing at local levels.

Li urged officials at all levels to be guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era in order to accelerate transforming government functions and building institutions.

Li stressed that China is now at a crucial stage of updating its economic structure and shifting its economic drivers.

During this time, he said, well-regulated and clean governance accompanied by innovation is of critical importance against the backdrop of increasing protectionism and geopolitical uncertainty worldwide. It also important to add to this the further boosting of market vitality.

Modern information technology will be more widely applied in developing clean governance to ensure all government activities and behavior are properly tracked and supervised, Li also said.

Liu Kun, minister of finance, spoke on the importance of pushing forward clean governance in the work of central financing.

Zhang Mao, head of the State Administration for Market Regulation, talked about compliance in market regulation, and Ying Yong, Shanghai's mayor, also spoke at the meeting.