Personal stories reveal philosophy

Premier Li Keqiang told four stories during a meeting with members of the media:

1 Taobao village

I also bought things like books on the Internet. I will not tell you the names of the books, or it will seem like an advertisement. But I am willing to advertise new businesses, including online shopping, express delivery and e-commerce. They have given a strong boost to employment and consumption in our country.

I once went to the Qingyanliu village in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, which was dubbed China's No 1 e-commerce village - also known as the Taobao village. Some 800 households in the village have registered more than 2,800 online stores, which illustrates that there's a huge space for entrepreneurship.

I then visited a physical store near the village, and the owner said he also opened an online store and became more competitive after uploading pictures and videos to display commodities to attract more customers.

2 China still a developing country

Before Chinese New Year, I visited a family of a mother and a son in a rural area of western China. They lived in a shabby house. You could feel the wind when standing in the home. The son was 40 years old and remains single because of the poverty.

Another family I visited had a boy who went to college. But his younger sister had to work in another region during the festival to support her brother.

There are a lot of families like this in China. According to the World Bank's standard, China has 200 million people in poverty. It is still a developing country.

3 Ukraine issue

On the issue of Ukraine, China has adopted an objective and just position. We respect Ukraine's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

I said this to Ukraine's president recently when we met. He asked if he could publish what I said. I told him: "No problem. You can put every word I said in the newspaper."

The Ukraine issue has added to the complexity of the geopolitical situation and affected the global economic recovery. China hopes the Ukraine issue will be settled through dialogue.

4 Wedding services

Last year as the government proceeded with reforms of the business registration system, I paid a visit to a local registration office. I came across a woman who was retired.

The government has replaced the old requirements with registration requirements that encourage those who have the enthusiasm to start their own businesses.

The woman said she wanted to register a wedding services company because she knows the traditional ways of Chinese weddings very well. The woman said she didn't have much education, but her knowledge of Chinese traditions gave her an edge in the business.

I believe there are many people with brilliant talent among the people. We must lift all the restrictions so that they can put their talent to good use.