Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has stressed higher level of opening-up to drive forward reform, stimulate market vitality and optimize the development environment.

Li made the remarks during an inspection tour of the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) and the General Administration of Customs (GAC) on May 21.

In a video conversation with local customs officers at the GAC monitoring and command center, Li told them to improve their service through technology and reduce clearance times and costs.

Li also asked them to be firm in fighting smuggling and preventing waste and inferior products from entering the country.

During his visit to the MOC, Li said it is necessary to actively improve the environment for foreign investment and to spread nationwide the good experiences of pilot free trade zones in opening-up, so that China continues to be a hot spot of investment.

"Further opening-up is inevitable in the new historical era and a higher level of opening-up will help drive forward reform, increase the market vitality and promote high-quality development," said Li during talks with senior officials of both the MOC and GAC.

The premier also stressed the importance of understanding changes to the international environment, and urged for the drafting of an overall plan regarding further opening-up, seizing opportunities and rising to the challenges to upgrade development.

Li said China should promote transformation of foreign trade to improve quality, further expand imports of key technology, quality products and services to upgrade domestic industry.

Enterprises are encouraged to participate in global competition and innovation will be vigorously promoted, said the premier, noting that China will upgrade level and improve brand influence of exports and foster new impetus of foreign trade.

China will facilitate coordinated development of two-way investment, revise and complete the negative list of foreign investment as soon as possible, further expand market access, strengthen intellectual property protection and accelerate establishing a lawful environment of fair competition to promote healthy and standardized development of foreign investment, said Li.

Li stressed that China will resolutely safeguard the multilateral trade system, mobilize more countries to jointly increase the level of free trade and investment facilitation with China, effectively prevent and mitigate risk to achieve win-win development through mutual opening-up and healthy competition.