China must improve business environment for manufacturing sector: Premier Li

BEIJING (Reuters) - China should provide more fundraising services to companies, especially smaller firms, and look at fiscal and tax policies that support upgrading its manufacturing sector, Premier Li Keqiang said in remarks published on the government's website.

Li said market entry barriers should be lowered, vocational training improved and intellectual property protection increased as China looks to improve its manufacturing sector, which he said is still in the mid to low-end internationally.

China has put forward its Made in China 2025 strategy, which aims to improve Chinese manufacturing and make Chinese firms world technology leaders.

Li's comments at a meeting with representatives from government departments and companies on Friday were published on the government's website on Sunday.

"Manufacturing is the foundation of economic development. In order to upgrade China's economy and realize new industrialization, we must rely on strengthening Chinese manufacturing," Li said.

(Reporting by Elias Glenn, editing by Louise Heavens)