China’s hi-tech direction on show as Premier Li Qiang visits economic barometer as US curbs, de-risking damage mounts
- Premier Li Qiang concluded a three-day visit to Guangdong province on Thursday, visitig laboratories and hi-tech firms in Dongguan and Shenzhen
- Li said China was at a critical period of economic transformation and upgrading and that it was necessary to deepen reform and opening up
Premier Li Qiang concluded a three-day visit to China’s manufacturing powerhouse province of Guangdong, which is also seen as its frontier of reform and opening up, on Thursday in an attempt to shore up market confidence amid ongoing damaging technology curbs and de-risking efforts from the United States.
Li visited various state-backed laboratories and hi-tech firms in Dongguan and Shenzhen, calling for an increased effort in technology innovation, as well as economic transformation and upgrading, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
“The policy direction of the tour is quite obvious, that is, the country will engage more in hi-tech and structural transformation,” said Dan Wang, chief economist at Hang Seng Bank China.
“So traditional industries are not the focus of policy attention at all.”
At Songshan Lake Materials Laboratory in Dongguan on Tuesday, Li said he hoped the facility could promote a deeper integration of industry, university and research, and strive for breakthroughs on key technologies.
