China advocates free and fair trade: Premier Li

China advocates free and fair trade, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said Thursday, urging reforms of the global governance system to make it more just and equitable.

Li made the remarks at the opening plenary of the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) annual conference in Boao, a coastal town in China's southern island province of Hainan.

"All parties must actively push for the global governance reform, which should not aim to start a new structure, or to serve a minority of countries, but to seek the broadest possible consensus," the premier said.

"China supports reforms of the World Trade Organization, but its basic principles and core values must be maintained."

Li reiterated calls to safeguard the rule-based multilateral trading system and seek win-win cooperation, stressing that no country can stay immune alone from such challenges as downward pressure in the global economy.