Premier meets with group of innovators over coffee

Visit to Zhongguancun seen as a gesture of government's support for startup businesses

Premier Li Keqiang shares a light moment with entrepreneurs at a 3W Cafe in Zhongguancun Science Park in Beijing on Thursday. WU ZHIYI/CHINA DAILY

As Premier Li Keqiang raised his black mug of coffee at a 3W Cafe, a meeting place for budding entrepreneurs and angel investors in Zhongguancun, Beijing's technology hub in the Haidian district, he stopped to read the phrase printed on its side: "Life is limited, but zheteng is not."

"Ah, zheteng," he said, a Chinese term that means to toil and bustle around something that is likely futile. "That really sums up innovation."

Li's visit on Thursday to Inno Way, or the innovation street, to talk to startup businesspeople, is widely seen as a gesture to reaffirm the government's support for entrepreneurship and innovation.

Zhao Chuyu comes to the 3W Cafe regularly to pitch his sports app to potential investors. The app helps soccer players find teammates and play games. Zhao said thousands of soccer teams have registered on his app since his product went online last year.

"It's such a brilliant idea to connect scattered soccer players," Li said. "We never knew the public needs such services, but the market knows. Trust the market. That is the essence of public innovation."