Wen Jiabao, Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, attended the opening ceremony of the first Summer Davos on September 6. He also answered questions from the audience. The following is a transcript of the questions and answers:

Q: China has carried out a series of reforms and is currently in a critical historical period. If they succeed, the reforms will move China into a new stage of development and lay the groundwork for its long-term development. How will historians characterize the present reforms when they look back?

A: China's reforms have brought about great economic and social changes. Let me summarize the major characteristics of the ongoing reforms. China's economic system is being turned from the traditional planned economy to a socialist market economy and from a closed or semi-closed economy to an open economy in the spirit of liberating and developing productive forces and improving people's living standards both materially and culturally.

On the political front, the reforms aim to enhance democracy, improve the rule of law, achieve social equity and justice and promote social harmony. Reforms in the two respects are closely linked and inseparable from each other. In future when historians look back , they may comment that the reforms at the present stage mark a crucial step taken by China, an old yet new country, toward reforming itself. China will persist in carrying out reforms throughout its modernization process. Reforms will determine China's future and fate.

The Chinese economy mainly relied on state-owned enterprises in the past. At present, China's state-owned enterprises are undergoing reforms. The international power equation is shifting from established large companies to emerging champion enterprises. These factors have exerted far-reaching influence on China's economy. How do you evaluate the entrepreneurs' contributions to China's future economic and social development?

While China's state-owned enterprises enhance their vitality and competitiveness through reform and restructuring, emerging enterprises have mushroomed in hi-tech sectors such as information and communications technology, biological technology, aviation and space, and energy conservation and environmental protection. Entrepreneurs' contributions to China's future economic and social development essentially lie in technological and institutional innovation. They must be innovative to win market competition and carve a niche in emerging industries. China's prosperity and development call for a large number of successful entrepreneurs. Chinese entrepreneurs are expected to nurture world-class enterprises with a sense of responsibility for the country and the people, thus contributing to coordinated, sustainable economic and social development.

From the perspective of the World Economic Forum, the most successful leaders, from the corporate world and the government alike, are increasingly expected to have a global vision and become global citizens. What qualities do you think global leaders should possess?

First, they should be farsighted. Leaders should grasp the present and future states of global economic and technological development. They should be able to come up with right solutions through wise decision-making.

Second, they should be good at seizing opportunities. The well-known German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote in Faust to the effect that we should seize opportunities at every favorable moment and not let them slip by.

Third, they should be reform-minded. They should aim to be innovative leaders who “do not fear changes, blindly follow their forefathers or take other's remarks too seriously.”

Fourth, they should be responsible. They should not recoil at hardships and difficulties but grapple with them with perseverance and a sense of responsibility.

Which reforms have had the biggest impact on global growth companies operating in China?

The first is China's unwavering opening-up policy. The Chinese Government should adopt and improve laws and regulations to protect the enterprises' legitimate rights and interests, protect intellectual property and level the playing field.

The second is the policy of expanding domestic consumption. China's huge domestic market is conducive not only to the development of growth companies but also to the economic development of China and the world at large.

The third is the active employment policy. China's rich, high-quality labor resources provide growth companies in China with an excellent human resource pool.

The fourth is regional development strategies. Ongoing efforts to develop China's western regions and revitalize old industrial bases in the northeast present rare opportunities to growth companies in China.