Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Tuesday called for greater efforts to promote consumption, expand domestic demand and boost the domestic economy, to further unleash the vitality and potential of China's enormous market.
Li, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the statement during an inspection tour in Beijing.
During the inspection at a local exhibition promoting domestic sales of foreign trade firms at a downtown mall, Li pointed out that the current external environment has undergone profound changes, adversely impacting China's foreign trade. He called for proactive actions of all to overcome difficulties, actively explore diversified markets, innovate trade channels and methods, and strive to ensure stable performance of foreign trade.
He urged efforts to effectively utilize existing policies to promote domestic sales of foreign trade goods, develop trade brands of foreign trade enterprises, establish a mechanism that allows direct reach of policies to enterprises, and steadily promote integrated development of domestic and foreign trade.
The premier stressed further actions to boost consumption, calling for increased efforts in stabilizing employment, promoting income growth, and strengthening guarantees, to further enhance the people's spending power and consumption willingness, and nurture a growing market for domestic demand.
Li advocated promotion of healthy competition, encouraging enterprises to develop differentiated advantages, enhance their competitiveness through continuous innovation in products and services, and create new demand through high-quality supply.
While visiting a real estate project site, the premier learned about local efforts to convert inventory housing into talent apartments. Li said that the purchase of existing commercial housing for use as affordable housing is a crucial step in stabilizing the real estate market and improving people's livelihoods, urging efforts to support such initiatives.
It is essential to implement all relevant policies, grant urban governments greater power to determine the types of entities that can make purchases, the prices of such properties, and the purposes for which they will be used, and introduce new support measures on the basis of research in a timely manner, Li said.
The premier urged in-depth promotion of urban renewal, calling for intensified efforts to redevelop old villages surrounded by urban areas and renovate old and dilapidated houses, make a good use of existing resources and optimize incremental resources.
It is essential to focus on the concerns of new urban residents and those with housing difficulties, with adjustment and improvement of the relevant policies to support residents in buying their first home or improving their housing situation, said the premier.
Currently and in the foreseeable future, there is still substantial development space in China's real estate market, he said, noting that the housing market potential should be further unleashed to actively promote the construction of quality homes, accelerate the formation of a new model for real estate development, and facilitate steady and healthy development of the real estate market.
Chinese premier urges efforts to boost consumption
The Israeli military on Sunday admitted that a series of professional failures resulted in the killing of 15 emergency responders in southern Gaza last month, while a spokeswoman for the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) rejected the claim, calling the report full of lies.
The findings were released following an internal investigation conducted by the General Staff Fact-Finding Mechanism. The probe concluded that troops involved in the incident did not engage in "indiscriminate fire," but acknowledged serious operational and procedural errors.
According to the investigation, the incident occurred before dawn on March 23 in the Tel al-Sultan neighborhood of Rafah. Israeli forces mistakenly identified emergency vehicles as belonging to Hamas due to "poor night visibility." A deputy commander allegedly failed to recognize the vehicles as ambulances and assessed them as hostile. Minutes later, soldiers opened fire on a UN-marked vehicle, which the military attributed to "operational errors in breach of regulations."
The investigation found that eight Red Crescent staff, six Civil Defense personnel, and a UN employee were killed in the shooting. Video evidence later contradicted initial Israeli claims that the vehicles lacked emergency markings. Footage showed ambulances with flashing lights and visible logos as medics approached another ambulance that had previously come under fire. The teams did not display hostile behavior, yet came under sustained gunfire lasting over five minutes.
Following the shooting, Israeli troops used bulldozers to bury the bodies and vehicles. Rescue and UN workers were only able to access the site approximately one week later to retrieve the remains.
The military stated that the deputy commander responsible for initiating the attack and providing an "incomplete and inaccurate report" during the debrief would be dismissed. A senior commander will also face disciplinary measures for his role in managing the scene.
While the probe acknowledged that crushing the ambulances was a mistake, Yoav Har-Even, who leads the military's investigative division, said the action was taken to clear the road for evacuation purposes later that day. He denied any intent to conceal the incident.
The investigation also refuted allegations that the victims had been executed at close range or that they were bound before or after the shooting. These claims were raised by the head of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society, who said the responders had been "targeted at close range."
The investigation's findings have been submitted to the Military Advocate General, which may decide whether to pursue legal charges. The investigative process is formally overseen by Israel's attorney general and Supreme Court, though no independent international investigations are currently underway.
According to the United Nations, Israeli military strikes have killed more than 1,000 health workers since the onset of the conflict. The Israeli military has been criticized for rarely conducting thorough investigations into such cases.
On the same day, Nebal Farsakh, a spokeswoman for the PRCS, refuted the claim, saying the investigation was full of lies.
She said the report, which attributed the deaths of the 15 people to operational errors by the Israeli military or even individual misjudgment by certain commanders, did not tally with the facts, stressing that such a report was both invalid and unacceptable.
Israel admits "professional failures" in killing medics, Palestine Red Crescent Society refutes its claim
