Wen Jiabao, Premier of the State Council, met the Chinese and foreign press and answered their questions at a press conference of the Fifth Session of the Tenth National People's Congress (NPC) held at the Great Hall of the People on the morning of 16 March at the invitation of NPC Spokesman Jiang Enzhu.

Premier: Ladies and Gentlemen, Comrades, this is my last press conference as the premier of this government during the sessions of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. People all over China have followed the two Sessions with keen interest. Over one million questions are posted for me on the internet, which have been read by over 26 million people. Yesterday, I browsed a website and came cross this question: How close does the Premier feel to us in his heart? What is on his mind? Yesterday afternoon, I received a letter written to me by pupils from a primary school forwarded by a deputy. Busy as I was, I wrote a letter back to them with a writing brush, wishing them all the best. I also read a news story on the internet that a CPPCC member has put forward a proposal for four years in a row calling for the establishment of medical insurance for children. I took his proposal very seriously and immediately gave written instructions that we need to handle matters concerning children's health on a priority basis and that the competent government authorities should take steps to address this issue.

It has been four years since this Government took office. These four years have taught us one thing: We must be guided by the fundamental principle that all the power of the government is bestowed on us by the people and that all the power belongs to the people. Everything we do should be for the people; we must rely on the people in all our endeavors, and we owe all our achievements to the people. We must uphold the honorable conduct of public servant. Government officials should be good public servants and serve the people. They do not have any other power. We must remain in the conviction that as long as we free our minds, keep pace with the advance of times, seek truth, continue reform and opening up, pursue scientific, harmonious and peaceful development, we will surely turn China into a prosperous, democratic, culturally-advanced, harmonious and modernized country.

Thank you.

Wall Street Journal: International investors are now very interested in China's stock market. Do you think the rise of the stock market over the past two years went too far too fast? And the average Chinese investors might be risking too much? What measures is your government considering to further cool down or regulate the stock market? And on another topic related to investment. The government has announced plans for a new agency to manage the diversification of China's foreign exchange reserves. Can you tell us what kind of assets this agency will invest in?

Premier: I follow closely the development of the stock market, and I particularly hope to see its healthy growth. Since last year, we have strengthened the development of institutional infrastructure for the capital market. In particular, we have successfully introduced the reform of listing non-tradable shares of listed companies, thus resolving an outstanding issue. Our goal is to build a mature capital market. To meet this goal, first, we need to improve the performance of listed companies. Second, we need to develop an open, fair and transparent market system. Third, we need to enhance oversight and regulation of the capital market and especially improve the relevant legal framework. Finally, we should see to it that stock market related information is released on a timely basis and make individual stock investors more aware of investment risks.

As to the issue of how to use China's foreign exchange reserves you have mentioned, this is indeed a big issue we face. From our own experience, we know how difficult it could be when we lacked foreign exchange. In the 1990s, China did not have enough foreign exchange, so we borrowed foreign exchange from the IMF. The IMF only lent us 800 million US dollars. Now our foreign exchange reserves have exceeded one trillion US dollars, and how to make good use of them has become a new issue for us.

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