Chinese premier urges efforts to boost real economy, expand demand

JINAN, May 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang has urged efforts to boost the real economy, expand domestic demand and stabilize external demand to promote economic recovery.

Li made the remarks during his inspection tour in Shandong Province from Wednesday to Thursday.

The premier said the real economy is the lifeblood of China's economy. The country should foster advanced manufacturing clusters, make coordinated efforts to transform and upgrade traditional industries, and foster and expand strategic emerging industries, while moving industries to the medium-high end, he said.

He stressed efforts to improve purchasing policies for new-energy vehicles while speeding up the construction of charging piles and other infrastructure, in order to further unleash the consumption potential of new-energy vehicles. ■