Premier Li Keqiang pledged on Thursday stronger policy support to the growth of cross-border e-commerce, with measures to make the overseas warehouses smarter and more digitalized, as he visited exhibitors at the 130th session of the China Import and Export Fair.

Li inspected domestic and foreign exhibition pavilions at the fair, which opened in Guangzhou, Guangdong province on Thursday, after having delivered a keynote speech and declared the opening of the event.

He spoke with staff from Zongteng Group, an overseas warehousing and logistics provider, and encouraged the company to strive to safeguard the reputation of made-in-China products and win over the trust from global consumers.

He vowed stronger support to startups and innovative business as he talked to workers from EHang Holdings Limited, an autonomous aerial vehicle technology platform company.

Li urged the company to ensure the safety of its products and ensure its competitiveness in the international market.

In a conversation with executives from US-based company Honeywell, the premier expressed appreciation to the company's decision to expand investment in China during the most challenging period of China's fight against COVID-19, saying that the nation welcomed foreign businesses to expand their operations in China.

Executives from Fagor, a consumer appliance company from Spain, told Li that China's vast market and robust consumer demand is highly attractive to Spanish companies.

Li said he hopes the company can produce more products that can cater to the demand of Chinese consumers and EU businesses can further deepen win-win cooperation with their Chinese counterparts.