On 20 Sept local time, Premier Li Keqiang meets with prominent representatives from the US economic, financial, academic and media circles in New York. (Photos provided to chinadaily.com.cn)

On US presidential election and access to China's insurance market, Premier Li said: I have come here to New York for UN events, but some friends told me that I am not coming at a right time, because it is the campaign season, which is the internal affair of the US. So there is little I can say about this except that no matter who becomes the next president, it is important that China-US relations continue to develop in a sound and steady manner. But one thing is definitely clear, that is, China is a firm defender of free trade, and we always push forward free trade under the WTO framework. This position will not change, because China, together with many other countries, has been a beneficiary of free trade. How can China give up what it has gained from? It doesn't make sense.

Talking about China's insurance market, it has developed for a very short time. Therefore we do lack experience, and we are taking steps to enhance and improve our regulatory structure to protect the policy holders. Every year, the elderly population in China grows by a large margin, so there is a huge insurance market in China. In developing its insurance market, China needs to draw upon the advanced experience of foreign countries and get foreign companies involved in this process, so that this market will be one of bigger vitality and consumers will have more options and choices. I want to tell you that in the most recent revised offer that China put to the BIT negotiations, further commitments on insurance sector opening-up were made, and I believe there is great potential for China-US cooperation in this respect.