President Xi voices his support for entrepreneurship and creativity

China’s President Xi Jinping has called for innovation, entrepreneurship, and creativity to be fostered in the nation’s economy.

He stressed the need to solve the outstanding structural issues that hinder their advancement, and to implement policies that beef up growth in the private sector.

Chinese President Xi Jinping shakes hands with his fellow deputies from Fujian Province at the second session of the 13th National People's Congress in Beijing, March 10, 2019. [Photo: Xinhua]

President Xi was speaking on Sunday at a discussion with legislators from Fujian Province who are in Beijing for the second session of the 13th National People's Congress.

For 17 years, Xi Jinping worked in Fujian, which sits across the Straits from Taiwan. The president has called for greater economic and trade cooperation, infrastructure connectivity, and shared industry standards across the Straits. President Xi has encouraged officials on the mainland to listen to the people in Taiwan, and to find out what new policies and measures could be introduced that would benefit them.

Workers sew sports shoes at a factory of a private sportswear company in Jinjiang, Fujian Province, July 27, 2016. [File photo: VCG]

Fujian’s revolutionary base areas made an immense contribution to the founding of the People’s Republic of China. But they have lagged behind other parts of the country economically due to their geography, especially their mountainous terrain. President Xi said that the people in the revolutionary base areas would not be forgotten, and development in their region would be sped up so they can “share the fruits of reform and development.”

Eight deputies, including Ding Shizhong who runs Anta Sportswear, exchanged views with the president on topics that also included poverty reduction, offshore fishing, construction of a digital China, and the further opening up to the outside world.