Premier Li Lauds Student Entrepreneurs, Vows to Encourage Entrepreneurship, Innovation

Premier Li Keqiang has expressed praise and appreciation for the youth’s spirit of entrepreneurialism and self-motivation, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The premier's remark was posted on the central government's website, in a written response to students at Tsinghua University for Youth Day on May 4.

According to the report, Li urged the students, including the chuangke, to cultivate their pioneering spirit and challenge them to break conventions to drive innovative and entrepreneurial progress.

Chuangke ("makers" in English) refer to hands-on technology enthusiasts who create products using 3D printers, robotics and other advanced tools. A chuangke differs from an "inventor" in the sense that a chuangke has an entrepreneurial spirit and they are more interested in monetizing their products.

The report said that the students from Tsinghua's i.Center sent a letter last week, informing the premier of the latest developments at the center and expressed their desire to pursue "mass entrepreneurship and innovation."

Established in 2013, the i.Center aims to provide chuangke access to global resources for their projects, including open-source software and design models.

The report said that Li mentioned the chuangke and their role in motivating growth in the government's work report in March.

In his response to the letter of the students and youth, Li assured that the government will continue to encourage mass entrepreneurship and innovation.

The Chinese leader also vowed to implement policies that would create a more conducive environment for makers to succeed.

China's economic growth dropped to 7 percent in the first quarter, still better compared to the 6.1 percent during the global financial crisis.

According to the report, the number of newly founded firms in the country increased by 40 percent, most of them from emerging sectors, which may be attributed to government incentives for start-ups.