BOAO, Hainan -- Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang said Monday that China will deepen reforms and opening-up to remove obstacles on its course to transfer growth mode and drive economic and social development.

Li made the remarks when delivering a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2012, which runs from Sunday to Tuesday in Boao, a scenic town in South China's island province of Hainan.

"Faced with the profound changes in international and domestic landscapes, we must let reforms and opening-up continue to lead the way in removing the institutional obstacles that hamper the shift of the growth model," Li said.

Noting that the country has entered a critical stage of reform, Li said China will deepen reform of the fiscal sector, taxation, finance, pricing, income distribution and enterprises.

The country will endeavor to make breakthroughs in key areas and key links, and bring into better play the market's role in resource allocation and advance institutional, technological and management innovation so as to increase the internal driving force and dynamism of development, Li said.

Li said the country will adopt an even more proactive opening-up strategy and attach equal importance to export and import so as to boost balanced development of foreign trade and raise the level of an open economy.

"China is dedicated to creating an open, transparent, fair, competitive and predictable marketplace and legal environment,"  Li said, adding that more efforts will be made to step up intellectual rights protection to promote development of all enterprises in China during its course to transform growth mode.

More than 2,000 government, business and academic leaders from around the globe attended the meeting, which this year adopts the theme "Asia in the Changing World: Moving toward Sound and Sustainable Development."