During his visit to the National School of Development at Peking University on April 15, Premier Li Keqiang praised the "creative work" of the New Economy Index, which analyzes the new economy through big data from nine major industries and more than 100 categories.

He pointed out that it would be difficult to maintain China's medium-high economic growth with the traditional drivers, and we should actively cultivate new momentum and promote the development of China's new economy.

Development of the new economy will be conducive to employment and create conditions for the upgrading of traditional momentum, he said.

The New Economy Index was jointly released by local think tank Caixin and BBD, a big data enterprise, in March. The index evaluates the vitality of China's new economy during the process of economic transition based on big data from major industries.

The index gives a higher proportion to the new economy in China's overall economy, showing the more significant role it will play in stabilizing China's economic growth. Information technology and information service industries account for the largest proportion in the new index.

During Premier Li's visit to the Maker Space in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan province, he said that related departments should conduct research on the New Economy Index and the index for mass entrepreneurship and innovation, and make the two indexes a basis for policymaking.