BEIJING -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Monday convened a symposium with economic experts and entrepreneurs to solicit opinions on the current state of the economy and the work for the next step.

During the meeting, participants reached a consensus that despite a complex external environment and lingering difficulties and challenges, the Chinese economy has continued to pick up with growing positive factors and bolstered market confidence.

After listening to the speeches of the attendees, Li, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, acknowledged the rising complexity, severity and uncertainty in the external environment. However, he emphasized that China's development, anchored by a solid foundation, multiple advantages and immense potential, will not change its upward trend in the long run.

Li said China has the confidence and capability to sustain robust economic development.

He noted that to consolidate and boost the positive economic trajectory, it is imperative to intensify efforts toward expediting the implementation of government policies, further stimulating market entities, bolstering the endogenous momentum, and tackling prominent problems systematically.

Targeted measures should be rolled out to leverage technological innovation for driving industrial innovation and address the lack of effective demand, Li said, adding that greater emphasis should be placed on improving people's livelihoods.

The Chinese premier urged experts to contribute more wisdom to economic and social development and entrepreneurs to focus on innovation and development and to actively explore business opportunities.