More efforts should be made to ensure six priorities and stability in six areas for steady economic fundamentals, Premier Li Keqiang said at the State Council executive meeting on May 13.

Six priorities, namely, employment, people's livelihoods, the development of market entities, food and energy security, and stable operation of industrial and supply chains, as well as smooth functioning at the community level, are positive measures against difficulties and challenges because they address prominent contradictions and risks faced by the current economy and require a lot of effort, the Premier added.

Faced by the unprecedented challenges, efforts should be made to follow up on changing the global situation and step up macro-regulation to ensure six priorities and stability in six areas (employment, finance, foreign trade, foreign investment, domestic investment, and market expectations), for steady economic fundamentals, Premier Li said.

Currently, all countries around the world see employment as a core issue of their macro-policies, while the main purpose of ensuring employment is to bolster people's livelihoods, the Premier said.

"The purpose of our development is to improve people’s livelihoods, which helps to gain people’s trust. And from an economic perspective, it ensures a market for consumption and the healthy development of market players," he added.

In addition, market players have a direct relation to employment and people’s livelihoods. "So we must put market players even before employment and people’s livelihoods, and stimulate market players' vitality and social creativity through reforms," the Premier said.

The more uncertain the situation is, the more important the six priorities are.

When employment, people’s livelihoods, and market players are ensured, people will have incomes, thus boosting consumption and expanding market demand, he said.

"By holding the bottom line of six priorities and keeping steady economic fundamentals, we can definitely buy time over difficulties, and lay a solid foundation for a moderately prosperous society in an all-around way," the Premier said.

According to Premier Li, to ensure the six priorities and stability in six areas, macro-regulation should be stepped up, with a combination of fiscal, monetary, social insurance, and pro-employment policies. More targeted regulatory and control measures also should be adopted.

"The scope of assistance to people living in poverty, living on minimum subsistence allowances or the unemployed should be expanded to guarantee basic living; on the other hand, further tax and fee cuts should be implemented to help enterprises survive. Efforts should be made to secure employment and people's livelihoods through supporting market players, thus the foundation of economic and social development can be stabilized," he said.

Premier Li also called for enhanced reform and opening-up efforts, and incentives to encourage innovation at primary levels so that market players' vitality and social creativity can be further stimulated. Through win-win cooperation and further opening-up, the industrial chain and supply chain will be stabilized, and the resilience and potential of economic development will be enhanced, he added.

The past 40 years of practices proved that bigger economic and social progress relies on further reform and opening-up, he said. "Only by inspiring the enthusiasm and wisdom of market players and ordinary people, can we overcome all the difficulties."