BEIJING -- Premier Li Qiang Friday called on China and Africa to work more closely to elevate economic and trade cooperation to higher levels.

China-Africa economic and trade cooperation serves as a cornerstone of bilateral collaboration and provides strong support for jointly advancing modernization, Li said in a speech at the opening ceremony of the eighth Conference of Chinese and African Entrepreneurs held in Beijing.

Li noted that the two sides should further strengthen market alignment. China, he said, will expand unilateral market access to the least developed countries and widen the green channel for African agricultural exports to China.

China also stands ready to work with Africa to enhance mutual opening up and speed up the process of negotiating and signing of framework agreements on jointly developing economic partnerships, he added.

Li called for further promotion of industrial integration, expressing China's willingness to deepen cooperation with Africa in industrial chains to jointly safeguard the stability and smooth functioning of global industrial and supply chains.

He also stressed the need to further enhance the innovation-driven momentum, noting that China is ready to strengthen cooperation with Africa in areas such as the digital economy, artificial intelligence and new energy, thereby fostering new drivers of development and exploring more new growth points.

About 1,000 people were present at the opening ceremony of the conference, including African leaders attending the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and business representatives from both sides.