Along with vice premiers Zhang Gaoli, Liu Yandong, Wang Yang and Ma Kai, Premier Li Keqiang made his debut before Chinese and foreign journalists covering this year's sessions of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Beijing on March 17 at the invitation of Fu Ying, spokesperson of the First Session of the 12th NPC. Li also answered their questions.

To begin, the new premier welcomed the journalists to the press conference and introduced the vice premiers.

Li said, "We sincerely thank NPC deputies for their trust. From the moment we took on this new role, I have deeply felt the heavy responsibilities the Chinese people of all ethnic groups have placed on our shoulders. We will be true to the Constitution and loyal to the people, whose wish will point the direction of our efforts. We will take as our sacred mission the people's aspirations for a better life. We will revere laws and have the courage to get things done so as to benefit the whole nation and build a strong and prosperous country. These are my opening remarks. Now the floor is open for questions."

Lianhe Zaobao from Singapore: The plan for reforming State Council institutions has attracted extensive attention. Is this your ideal plan? How do you intend to achieve the goals of streamlining the government and transforming its functions?

Li Keqiang: To succeed in doing anything, one has to strike a proper balance between ideal and reality. The core of the reform plan is to transform government functions. Of course, it also aims to streamline the government and delegate powers to lower levels. While institutional reform seeks to optimize the distribution of power within the government, transforming government functions is about redefining and rationalizing the relationship between the government on the one hand and the market and society on the other. Put simply, we should leave to the market and society what they can do well and on the part of the government, we should properly manage matters that fall within our purview.

Institutional reform is not easy. Transforming government functions will be even more difficult because it requires more in-depth changes. When I visited local communities, I often heard people complain to me that they would need the approval of several dozen government departments to get something done or to start a business. People are quite frustrated about this. Such a state of affairs is not good for government efficiency. It might also create opportunities for corruption or rent-seeking behavior and harm the image of the government. Therefore we will start with reform of the government examination and approval system. Right now there are more than 1,700 items that still require the approval of State Council departments. Within the term of this government, we are determined to cut that figure by at least one third.

Given that some have expressed the view that the government has misplaced roles, let's restore to the market the roles that the government has wrongly assumed. The reform is about curbing government power. As a self-imposed revolution, it will require real sacrifice and be painful. However, since the reform is crucial to China's development and demanded by the people, the new government is determined to make the sacrifice. We will keep our promise and match our words with action. We will never secretly hold onto our powers or shy away from real difficult issues. We will never play games to get around the requirements of reform.

People's Daily: Many people believe the new government will face a daunting agenda. What are your goals and top priorities?

You have asked a big question. The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) put forward the goals of this government in comprehensive detail. Those will be the goals of my government.

The nearer we are to our goal of modernization, the more risks and challenges we might encounter. In a country as vast as China, we have a lot of tasks to fulfill. To summarize, I think the first one is to maintain sustainable economic growth. It is expected that China will face a severe and complex economic environment. We must be prepared for potential adversities and handle changes in a calm fashion. We need to maintain steady economic growth, prevent inflation and control latent risks so that there won't be major fluctuations in our economic performance. To reach the goals of doubling 2010 per-capita GDP and personal income by 2020, China must register an annual average economic growth of about 7 percent over the next few years. This is not easy, but we have favorable conditions, including an enormous domestic demand. The key is to facilitate economic restructuring and foster new growth engines by integrating the dividends of reform with domestic demand potential and innovation vitality. Only in this way, can China upgrade its economy to one featuring improved quality and efficiency, more jobs and income, a better environment and the efficient use of resources.

The second task is to continuously improve people's lives by raising the income of urban and rural residents, in particular that of the low-income group, and expanding the size of the middle-income group. Since the government is obligated to improve people's living standards, it should weave a solid social security net to safeguard basic welfare in compulsory education, medical care, old-age insurance and housing. We must take steps to strengthen weak links in these areas. Also we should improve subsistence allowance and assistance for patients suffering from major diseases so that the poor can have something to fall back on in difficulty. If those people fall into plight, the basic moral and psychological line of society will be at stake. The government should make the utmost efforts to mobilize all possible resources to safeguard the subsistence and dignity of the needy.

The third task is to promote social fairness. Fairness is a source of creativity and a yardstick to measure public satisfaction. The government shall be the guardian of social fairness. We will strive to ensure all Chinese enjoy equal opportunities and receive due rewards for their hard work, no matter if they are from urban or rural areas and whatever social or family backgrounds they have. All wealth creators, either state-owned or private, should be duly rewarded for having honestly competed on a level ground.

To fulfill these tasks, the following three things are essential: First, we must build an innovative government so that we can unleash the vitality of our economy and society through reform and opening up. Second, we should build a clean government to make it more credible, effective and efficient. Third, we should build a government under the rule of law, which is of fundamental importance. Law has a sacred place in our society. The boundaries of law shall not be breached. We must stick to the rule of law to build a modern economy, society and government.

To achieve the three tasks, we will have to make arduous efforts. My predecessor, Premier Wen Jiabao, and colleagues who have retired, have laid a good foundation. We would like to convey our deep respect to them. I'm convinced under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the general secretary and with the hard efforts and wisdom of 1.3 billion Chinese people, we will succeed in accomplishing the goals of national renewal and modernization.

China National Radio: Some cases of corruption have recently been exposed in different parts of the country. What specific measures will the new government adopt to increase people's confidence in anti-corruption efforts?

Let me add that I want to thank People's Daily for the previous question. You have raised an important question. Corruption is at complete variance with the nature of our government. The Chinese Government has an unshakable resolve and determination to fight corruption. Let me make my position clear.

A clean government should start with itself. Only by being upright itself can it ask others to be upright. This is an ancient adage and a truth. Since ancient times, holding government office and making money have been two separate lanes. Since we have chosen public service, we shall give up the thought of making money. We will readily accept the supervision of society and media.

We will establish an anti-corruption mechanism to ensure that officials dare not and are unable to practice corruption and those who are corrupt will be punished according to law. It is even more important to make sure power is exercised in an open and transparent fashion so that the people can supervise the government effectively and we can insulate power against possibilities of abuse.

We need to win the trust of the people and bring benefits to them by practicing frugality in government affairs. If the people are to live a good life, their government must be put on a tight budget. Recently I received a report saying that central fiscal revenues increased by only 1.6 percent in January and February. In the future, you might not see big growth of fiscal revenues in China. However, spending on improving people's livelihood is a must and will surely increase. That means we have to cut spending on government operations.

Here, let me lay down three clear rules: Within my tenure, first, the government will not use the public coffer to construct new offices, halls or guest houses for its use; second, the number of government employees will decrease; and third, spending on official hospitality, overseas trips for official purposes and purchases of official vehicles will be reduced. The Central Government will set an example and governments at all levels must follow suit.

Associated Press: China has called for building a new type of relationship with the United States. What would the Chinese side like the U.S. to do, including with the latter's so-called pivot to Asia? Will China stop its cyber attacks against the U.S. since it has become an issue of national security?

Your question reminds me of a recent U.S. media report, which made the point that conflict between major countries is not a law of physics. I subscribe to that view.

Your question also reminds me of a visit I made to the United States in the 1980s during election season. I met with people from both of the two main political parties. They assured me that no matter who came to power, cooperation with China and commitment to the one-China policy will not change.

Despite experiencing ups and downs in the last decades, the bilateral relationship has moved forward, evidence that Sino-U.S. cooperation meets the fundamental interests of people in both countries and complies with the international trend of peace and development.

The newly elected Chinese Government, as always, highly values Sino-U.S. ties as a relationship between the world's biggest developing country and its biggest developed nation. We're willing to construct, together with the Barack Obama administration, a new type of relationship between big powers.

You also asked how we can build this type of relationship. Since I began working in the Central Government, I have often met with U.S. political leaders. They have been candid with me. They said they came to advance U.S. interests, and I said to them, "I work for China's." That gives us something in common, because it is always possible to find convergent interests.

Trade between China and the United States soared from only $1 billion more than three decades ago to nearly $500 billion last year. We will continue to pursue mutually beneficial cooperation. Trade and investment opportunities in the future will surely exceed those in the past three decades and this will deliver tangible benefits to Chinese and American people.

I'm not saying there are no disputes between us. But as long as we respect each other's major concerns and manage our differences, our common interests will far outweigh disputes that we might have. China and the United States have their own distinctive civilizations and cultures. We can learn from each other in the spirit of deepening friendship and laying a strong social foundation for good bilateral relations.

The Asia-Pacific region is where the interests of China and the United States intersect the most. Both sides have vowed to uphold regional stability and promote regional prosperity. We hope these commitments will be reflected in action. China and the United States should have sound interactions in the Asia-Pacific region before they can build a new-type major power relationship and exert a positive influence on peace and development in the region and beyond.

You also asked about hacker attacks. This is a worldwide problem and China itself is one of the major targets of hackers. China does not support, but indeed opposes, such attacks. In your question, I sensed a presumption of guilt. We should not make groundless accusations against each other but spend more time doing practical things that will contribute to cyber security.

China Central Television: You often say reform will pay the biggest dividend. Recently, Internet users have been discussing this statement and voiced their expectations on leading Chinese websites. Reform in China is now like navigating uncharted waters. Advancing reform will be difficult because we will have to encounter vested interests that may stand in the way of further reform. In this context, how can the dividend of reform be unleashed? How do you intend to push forward the reform agenda?

I say reform pays the biggest dividend because there is still room for improvement in China's socialist market economy. There is great potential for further unleashing productivity through reform and space to make sure the benefits of reform reach the entire population. In advancing reform, the most important thing is to take action. Talking the talk is not as good as walking the walk. We should pursue market-oriented reform. As for our priorities, we will push for reform that will make an immediate and systemic impact in accordance with the three tasks I mentioned earlier.

While accelerating economic transformation, we will make full use of fiscal, financial and pricing policy instruments and reform the budgetary system to make it more open, transparent, standardized and inclusive. We will welcome the public's effective supervision of government expenditure and revenues, improve the structure of government spending and tilt spending in favor of areas concerning people's livelihood. In the financial sector, we will carry out market-oriented reform in interest rates and the exchange rate of the yuan, while developing a multi-tier capital market and raising the share of direct financing. We will also protect the lawful rights and interests of investors, especially the small and medium ones. We will also drive economic transformation through further opening up the service sector. Our trade, especially in goods, will continue to grow at a high speed in the years to come. That will create enormous opportunities for the world and help Chinese enterprises upgrade themselves in the course of fair competition.

To improve people's well-being, the government should reform the income distribution system. We should confront the two biggest gaps in Chinese society: The gap between urban and rural areas and the gap between different regions. In particular, we should confront the former gap as it involves the largest number of people-800 million rural and 500 million urban residents. We need to take action to narrow this gap. We also need to promote the reform of the social security system. We need to raise the administrative level at which social security funds are well managed so that those that have paid medical and old-age insurance premiums in other cities can reimburse their expenses at and transfer their accounts to places where they currently reside. This will also contribute to labor mobility in China. We also need to pursue reform to promote social fairness. We will eliminate regulations that impede social fairness and let transparent rules prevail over "hidden rules." At the same time, we will allow private capital to more smoothly and effectively enter financing, energy, railways and other sectors. We will pursue reform in the social sector to promote upward mobility. In Chinese universities, the share of rural students remains low. We will gradually raise that proportion to give hardworking rural students more hope.

In pursuing reform, we need to focus on key areas and ensure overall coordination. We want to pursue comprehensive change, covering all sectors, to push forward socialism with Chinese characteristics.

You said that, in pursing reform, we have to navigate uncharted waters and confront protracted problems in the shake up of vested interests. However deep the water, we will wade in because we have no alternative. Change concerns the destiny of our country and the future of our nation. This pursuit will require the courage, wisdom and tenacity of the people in ensuring progress is achieved.

United Daily News of Taiwan: In recent years, the cross-Straits relationship has witnessed great strides. What plans do you have for the promotion of peaceful development of future ties? Are there any new opportunities and challenges facing such relations?

The Taiwan Straits belong to China. Residents on either side are fellow compatriots, a deep-rooted concept in our culture and the main reason our nation has thrived uninterrupted for 5,000 years. "Bones may be broken, but they are not split." Between us, there are no knots that cannot be untied.

We are glad to see that cross-Straits relations have enjoyed peaceful development and cooperation has yielded fruit. As long as we maintain the One-China principle, there will be plenty of space and potential for advancing ties.

We should make full use of and expand on current opportunities. My government will work hard to identify new pillars for cross-Straits cooperation. In the course of opening up and development on the mainland, we will give more consideration to the well-being and interests of our Taiwanese compatriots, so that the two sides can share in the fruits of China's development.

Xinhua News Agency: Currently, there is much talk about urbanization. Some argue that it is a logical product of modernization while others think it will deprive rural residents of their land to create a new class of urban poor. What is your view on this?

I'm aware of public concern regarding urbanization, which I take very seriously. The scale of urban expansion in China is unprecedented in human history and will impact the rest of the world. I do believe that people generally want to see steady progress made in this area.

Urbanization is a logical result of modernization and a general aspiration of rural residents in China. It stands to unleash huge consumption and investment demand as well as create many job opportunities. More directly, it will help enrich farmers and benefit the whole nation. When I visited rural communities, people often told me their aspirations for the future. The focus, put simply, was: "We hope to live the same kind of lives as our urban counterparts." In the past, this was only a dream. Today, however, urbanization is opening the door for it to come true. Now, rural residents often migrate to cities to engage in secondary and tertiary industries while others remain behind to farm. Either way, they can make more money and become richer. Every year, more than 10 million migrate to cities. This is an inevitable trend.

We want to pursue a new type of urban expansion that places people at its heart. Nowadays, there are about 260 million migrant workers in cities. For those who want to integrate into urban life, we will gradually make it possible for them to do so, but this will be a long-term and complex process, which requires the support of job creation and provision of services. Urbanization is not about building big cities. We need to properly balance development of the large, medium and small. China's eastern, central and western regions should pursue urban development in light of their local conditions. It is also important to prevent the typical diseases that plague big cities, so that we will not have the situation where skyscrapers coexist with shantytowns. Within the term of this government, we are determined to redevelop over 10 million different types of shanty dwellings, so as to overcome bifurcation within cities and lower the threshold for urbanization. More importantly, our efforts must go hand-in-hand with agricultural modernization, keep the size of arable land above the red line, ensure food security and protect farmer interests.

Urbanization is a complex and big project. It will trigger profound changes in our economy and society, dependent on integrated reforms in many areas. According to current statistics, about 500 suggestions and proposals were made related to urban growth during the NPC and CPPCC sessions. We will review all of these very carefully, and pursue progress in a steady, active and prudent way.

Le Figaro of France: Nowadays, environmental pollution and food safety are very serious issues. Is it possible for the Chinese Government to address such problems while maintaining rapid economic development as well as allow the people and media to monitor its achievements?

We want to fully upgrade the Chinese economy while ensuring our people can breathe clean air alongside having safe drinking water and food. Recently, apart from Beijing, extensive parts of eastern China experienced heavy air pollution, which made me quite upset. The problem has developed over a long period of time. Rest assured, however, we will make every effort possible to clean up the skies. As for key regions and manmade factors we have identified, we will set deadlines for these to be dealt with. As for water and soil pollution, we will need to develop a clear understanding of the problem and take urgent steps to improve the situation.

Food safety is a matter of utmost importance, because it has a direct bearing on people's quality of life and health. The government will take strong measures to punish heartless producers of substandard and fake food.

I am additionally concerned with whether we can make rapid progress towards transforming our inefficient growth model. It is no good to be poor in a beautiful environment, but nor is it any good to be well-off and live with the consequences of environmental degradation. We need to develop a new concept on development and pursue growth in a scientific way. First, we need to raise environmental thresholds; second, we need to speed up efforts to overcome long-standing problems, including phasing out backward production facilities. We will face up to the situation and punish offenders without mercy while enforcing the law with an iron fist.

We should not pursue economic growth at the expense of the environment. It's important that the extent of pollution, the real food safety situation and the results of our clean-up efforts be made public, so that people and media can supervise our efforts. Since we breathe the same air, we have to work together. Everyone should pitch in. As far as the government is concerned, we will show greater resolve and take whatever actions are need to reassure our people.

China Daily: You have mentioned the goals of reform. Is there a timetable for this in terms of the reeducation through labor system?

Relevant authorities are working intensively on plans to reform the reeducation through labor system before the end of this year.

Phoenix Television: In 2011, you visited Hong Kong and brought along a large Central Government gift-box. What new measures will your government take to promote the city's development? Also, people want to get a fuller understanding of you as a person, having worked your way up from the lowest levels of Chinese society to the highest spheres of government. Can you tell us more about your personal experience and philosophy?

During my trip to Hong Kong, I announced the Central Government's policies for supporting the city's prosperity and deepening cooperation between it and the mainland. I think your description of these policies as a "gift box" provides a vivid analogy. To fully access this "box," we need to work together.

I was deeply impressed by the success of the "One Country, Two Systems" initiative. Compatriots in Hong Kong are hardworking and smart. Local society is inclusive, open and vibrant, offering great space for cooperation. The Central Government will do its best to advance the well-being of citizens in the south.

You asked about my personal experience. I grew up in Fengyang County, Anhui Province and shared many hard times with local peasants in this once poor area. It was while working in a field during 1977 that I learned of my acceptance to university.

The policy of reform and opening up has changed the destiny of our country and lifted millions of peasants out of poverty. We will try our best to ensure that the dividends of change benefit the whole of society.

In summary, to put others first and benefit all under heaven are some of the core principles I have learned in life. I'm convinced that only by being upright in conducting oneself and by being fair in handling affairs can one benefit the country and the people.

Russian International News Agency: President Xi Jinping will soon pay a visit to Moscow. As China's new premier, how do you view China-Russia relations and what plans do you have to promote such ties?

The President's trip itself reveals the importance of our bilateral relationship. China and Russia are each other's biggest neighbors. Our political relations are in very good shape and there is nothing we don't agree on. I have also noticed a strong desire on both sides to raise the level of practical cooperation and leverage economical complementarities. Current bilateral trade stands at $80 billion, which can surely double with joint effort.

China and Russia remain keen to maintain peace and stability in the region and the world at large. The former has been actively involved in promoting mutually beneficial cooperation with its neighbors to ensure regional development and cooperation becomes an irreversible trend.

As we are running out of time, allow me to say a few words in closure.

Judging from foreign news reports, two major issues have come to my attention. The first relates to whether the Chinese economy will continue its sustainable growth while the second refers to whether a stronger, more assertive China will eventually seek hegemony?

In my view, the country is capable of maintaining sustainable and sound economic development while pushing forward social progress. With a population of over 1.3 billion, China finds itself on a long journey towards modernization. For this purpose, we require an international environment of lasting peace. Even if we do increase in strength, we will not seek hegemony, having experienced painful effects in our own modern history.

Let me underscore that China has an unwavering commitment to peaceful development, safeguarding sovereignty and securing territorial integrity. These principles are essential for regional stability and global peace in the 21st century.

(This press conference was held in the Great Hall of the People, attended by around 800 local and foreign reporters)