Reform in the past years has been carried out unremittingly, in a step-by-step manner, but the government has increased reform measures since last year.

"The economy is moving in the right direction," said Sashikiran Shetty, executive chairman of Avvashaya Group, an Indian logistics enterprise.

Level playing field

Li told the CEOs that anti-trust probes had not singled out foreign companies. A series of probes into big foreign names in recent years, the latest against Microsoft and Jaguar Land Rover, have sent ripples across Western business circles and stirred unease among those firms who perceived unfair treatment.

Apart from anti-trust investigations, China also cracked down on theft of trade secrets, intellectual property rights infringement and counterfeiting, the premier said, stressing that these measures do not target any particular firms. The amount of attention given to the probes is a result of increasing transparency on the part of the regulators.

The regulative measures, including anti-monopoly probes, are in accordance with the law, transparent and fair, the premier said. It benefits China because foreign firms and products will be more likely to enter the Chinese market if the environment is perceived as fair and competitive.

By cutting red tape and strengthening monitoring in the past year, China has tried to cultivate an easy, fair and competitive business climate, the premier said.

The premier, however, said companies should abide by the law and commercial ethics, calling them to do business fairly and give customers reasonable prices.