BEIJING -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Wednesday called for high-quality sci-tech empowerment and policy support to boost the quality and promote the upgrading of China's bio-medicine industry.

Li, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks during a fact-finding and research tour in the Chinese capital of Beijing.

While visiting Changping Laboratory, Li called for efforts to focus on global forefront and key fields, achieve further major original results, and nurture more high-caliber talent in the life sciences, thus enhancing the basis for the development of China's bio-medicine industry.

During tours of a bio-tech enterprise and an international innovation center, Li stressed the importance of encouraging domestic companies to deepen international cooperation and boost their creativity and competitiveness, as well as the importance of optimizing the country's platform construction and operations model.

At a seminar, Li called for efforts to boost original innovation and core-technology breakthroughs in key fields, and to boost the industry's development through comprehensive AI empowerment.

He also urged more effective guidance for the application of high-quality, innovative medicines, and called for efforts to promote the modernization and industrialization of traditional Chinese medicine.