Li tells entrepreneurs big data and cloud computing are pointing the way forward

Premier Li Keqiang called on Tuesday for enterprises to upgrade traditional manufacturing by using big data and cloud computing.

Every aspect of human production and daily lives has been penetrated by big data and cloud computing, Li said.

He made the remarks to entrepreneurs attending the China Big Data Industry Summit, which starts on Wednesday in Guiyang, the provincial capital of Guizhou.

Li said, "China is now integrating information technologies with production to increase the quality and quantity of goods and cultivate new momentum for a new economy.

"To achieve that, there must be professionals who know about new and traditional economies. If we can incorporate new technologies, such as big data, into the craftsman's spirit, the products we make will better meet the demands of consumers."

The craftsman's spirit is a term that has been used to describe the integration of labor and technologies.

Michael Dell, chairman and CEO of Dell Inc, the global computer manufacturer, said, "The information and communication sector is the key enabler of economic growth in the US.

"Two-thirds of US productivity growth between 1995 and 2005 came from this sector, and since then it has contributed one-third of the growth."

Dell said the same phenomenon has just occurred in China, and includes all sectors using information and communication technologies.

"Big data and innovation play an important role in economic transformation," he added.

Terry Gou, chairman of Foxconn Technology Group, which is based in Taiwan, said Oxford University has predicted that 47 percent of jobs will be replaced by robots in 20 years.

His company aims to use information, finance and technologies to shift from labor-intensive manufacturing to manufacturing driven by advanced technologies.

Ma Huateng, chairman and CEO of Chinese internet company Tencent Holdings, said the company saw a 40 percent year-on-year increase in revenue last year from a "sharing economy", which included a car-hailing service.