Premier Li Keqiang held a seminar on the state of the Chinese economy with nine economic experts and business executives on July 10. Here are seven topics the Premier stressed upon:

No. 1: Direction of macro policies

Premier Li reviewed economic growth in the first half of the year and said the experience so far has proved that the macro policies fit the current and long-term needs of the country. In the next stage, the government will continue to use macro policies to facilitate economic growth and structural reforms, and improve people’s lives.

He said the market should continue to play the decisive role while macro policies are being implemented. He promised to keep pushing forward the reform process and allocating social resources to so that people have stable and long-term expectations.

No. 2: Potential economic growth rate

Responding to potential growth of 7 to 8 percent raised by an expert, Premier Li said the shared belief that China’s potential can support a mid-to-high growth rate has given people confidence in the Chinese economy.

He said the potential means great resilience, space and flexibility and that the key is to stay confident and push the economy to grow healthily with more effort and patience.

No. 3: How to deleverage

Premier Li proposed to deleverage and reduce bubbles in the economy by further raising productivity.

No. 4: Local government debt swap

The central government has started swapping local government debt since March this year, a move not backed by all economic experts.

The Premier pointed out that local government debt was mainly used to build infrastructure which generates returns. He added that every local government debt swapped was approved and endorsed by the central government.

No. 5: Offline stores go online

Premier Li mentioned that some offline stores have complained that e-commerce has disrupted their business. But, he said, with the help of beneficial policies, many offline enterprises have managed to transform and combine their offline and online business.

No. 6: Subsidies for energy saving

When a business executive asked for more support for enterprises that produce energy-saving internal combustion engines, Premier Li said that the current fund for energy saving already offers subsidies. But he also promised to offer more support in this realm.

No. 7: Safety net for entrepreneurship

Premier Li recalled that the first round of mass entrepreneurship at the beginning of the reform and opening up helped put China on a fast-growth track. He said the new, current round of entrepreneurship calls for patience and courage to start all over again.

He said that China’s 900 million workforce, through mass entrepreneurship and innovation, will become the new engine of economic growth. He added that the government should improve the social security system and offer a safety net to people who try to start businesses.