This year will be more challenging than 2015, and the government will need to work together with non-Communist parties and associations for new ideas to lead the change, Premier Li Keqiang said while meeting with some 10 representatives of non-Communist parties during a symposium in Beijing on Monday morning.

The symposium was held to solicit suggestions from the parties on improving the draft of the Government Work Report and the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20). It was the first of three symposiums.

Li stressed at the meeting that the international context is growing more complicated and may affect China's economic development. Meanwhile, the nation has reached a crucial point of transition in changing its mode of economic development and industrial upgrading.

In consequence, he said, the government needs new ideas to lead the change, such as promoting reform from the supply side, nurturing new developing economic centers and expanding effective investment, as well as protecting people's livelihoods.

Among the suggestions put forward at the meeting were advancing the concept of governance by rule of law at regional levels, better alleviating poverty in education, deepening medical reform and providing a better institutional environment encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation.

The representatives spoke highly of the government's successful completion of the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15).

Wan E'xiang, vice-chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee and chairman of the Central Committee of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang, suggested that more concentrated efforts were required this year in building governance by rule of law, especially at the regional level.

"We've noticed in our fieldwork over the past year that local governments in some areas still fail to live up to the rule-of-law concept. For example, some governments do not fulfill their contractual obligations in cooperative efforts with enterprises," Wan said.

He suggested that provincial-level governments need more education on international laws and regulations.

zhangyue@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 01/27/2016 page3)