BEIJING -- Premier Li Qiang on Sunday held a symposium at the Great Hall of the People with representatives of foreign experts who have won the 2024 Chinese Government Friendship Award and those who are working in China.

Li extended Chinese Lunar New Year wishes and sincere greetings to the foreign experts, and thanked them for their long-term concern and support for China's modernization efforts. He also listened to their opinions and suggestions on China's reform, development and government work.

Experts from countries including the United Kingdom, Poland, Mali, Romania, Germany and Pakistan delivered speeches on topics such as scientific and technological innovation, economic and trade cooperation, people-to-people and cultural exchanges, international communication and talent development.

Foreign experts have made positive contributions to China's new achievements in development in the past year, Li said. Their experiences of working and living in China exemplify the positive interaction and deep integration between China and the world, he said.

Noting that the world needs communication and the process of globalization is irreversible, Li said China consistently advocates strengthening international dialogue and will continue to uphold openness and inclusiveness while actively promoting international exchanges in various fields.

The premier stressed that innovation requires cooperation, and as the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation deepens, scientific research has become increasingly complex and systematic, making open cooperation both a trend and an inevitable choice.

China will continue to expand openness in science and technology, broaden and deepen joint research, actively participate in global technology governance, collaborate with all nations to solve practical problems and jointly address global challenges, he said.

He said China's doors will always remain open to talents from all countries. The Chinese government will further optimize relevant policies, enhance service guarantees, and build more international exchange and cooperation platforms, continuously creating favorable conditions for foreign talents to work in China, said the premier.

Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang attended the symposium.