Newspress

Recalling his visit to the Haier-Fisher & Paykel research center in New Zealand, Premier Li Keqiang urged efforts to speed up the transformation and upgrade of the real economy during the State Council executive meeting on April 5.

The Haier-Fisher & Paykel research and development center was started by China's Haier and New Zealand's Fisher & Paykel, two renowned home appliance manufacturers. The center combines cutting edge technology and efficient management experience from both sides.

During the Premier's visit on March 28, he was introduced to a new type of refrigerator compressor, which consumes less power and makes much less noise compared to old versions. "The technology behind it must be inspired by users like me who complained about the compressor's noise," Premier Li said.

The head of the center told Premier Li that once hearing user feedback, the center concentrated its efforts on developing a new compressor that could make a refrigerator that operates more stably while consuming less energy.

"Upgrading of core components for refrigerators is a classic example of transformation and upgrading of the real economy," Premier Li said at the April 5 executive meeting.

"The upgrading process should be always in line with consumers' needs and market feedback," he added.

The Premier said that in the 1980s, people deemed the "black-and-white TV, refrigerator, washing machine" as the "big three" things sent by bridegrooms' families as wedding presents, however, most were imports because domestic enterprises were not able to produce them.

Today, the real economy should keep a close eye on increasing changes in consumption and make use of platforms such as "Internet Plus", "mass entrepreneurship and innovation" and "sharing economy", to step up transformation.