Since 1999, the company has targeted the rising market of bandages, toothpastes and curing sprays for sprains, said Zhu Zhaoyun, the company's chief scientist, who has won the country's top award for science and technology.

Now the company ranks first in the sales of bandages and curing sprays, with revenue of 20.7 billion yuan ($3 billion) in 2015, which earned the company 2.7 billion yuan in net profit.

Yunnan has the country's second-largest number of natural plant species, and the company has collected more than 100,000 plants for medicine over the past 40 years, Zhu said.

Zhu later presented the premier with a book that features photos and descriptions of around 1,000 natural plants used for medicine.

"Many companies around the world are using natural plants to make medicine. So I hope your company can make more progress in the Chinese market and expand in the international market," Li said.

On Tuesday, the premier also met with former professors and students of the National Southwest Associated University, which existed in Kunming from 1937 to 1946, during a visit to the university's former site. After that, Li also went to Yunnan Energy Investment Group Co to check on how big data helps manage power grids.