Premier Li Keqiang interacts with American friends in New York

Premier Li Keqiang speaks at a welcoming dinner jointly hosted by the New York Economic Club, the National Committee on US-China Relations and the US-China Business Council at Waldorf Astoria New York, Sept 20, 2016.[Photo provided to China Daily]

Premier Li Keqiang then answered four questions from American friends who attended the event.

William Berkley, founder of W.R. Berkley Corporation and Board Of Trustees Chair, NYU: Premier, as Chinese companies seek to do business and make investment around the world, it's important that its market becomes open to investors around the world. How do you see that evolving, and how do you see the market of China becoming more open?

Premier Li: In the early days of China's opening-up, we put most of the emphasis on "bringing in" foreign investment. But today, in this age of globalization, China needs to work with multinationals, and Chinese companies are making investment overseas. So now, we are paying equal attention to "bringing in" and "going global". For a developing country like China, it is still important to attract massive foreign investment, which helps boost the Chinese economy. As you may know, total paid-in foreign investment made in China has reached US$1.7 trillion. For 24 years in a row, China has been the largest recipient of FDI among developing countries. And going forward, we hope that China will remain an attractive destination for foreign investment. We need foreign investment for economic growth. And more importantly, we need new managerial expertise and advanced technologies that foreign investment brings to China. But let me make one thing clear. We place no preconditions on technological cooperation, and we don't have a mandatory requirement for technology transfer.

At the same time, I have heard business leaders of foreign invested companies complaining about restrictions in accessing certain sectors of the Chinese market. To them I want to say this. It has not been that long since China launched its reform and opening-up program. Many sectors are still in a maturing process, which is also a process of further opening up. The areas of the Chinese economy open to foreign investment will only increase. China will open its door wider, and this door will never close. For those of you who have the capital and intention to invest in China, you are more than welcome to do so. Specific projects can be discussed later.(Laughter.)