Li, who took over as premier from Wen Jiabao on Friday, also promises to maintain steady growth and reduce inequality

This article is more than 7 years old

This article is more than 7 years old

China's new premier has promised to tackle bureaucracy, government excess and corruption as he began his term.

Li Keqiang, who will steer the world's second-largest economy and oversee the government, also vowed to curb public discontent by tackling inequality, at a press conference following the close of the largely rubber-stamp parliament on Sunday.

But the 57-year-old, who formally succeeded Wen Jiabao on Friday, said maintaining sustainable economic growth – of at least 7.5% annually over the coming years – was the highest priority.

"It will not be easy, but we have favourable conditions and enormous potential in domestic demand," he added.

The country's new leader, Xi Jinping, who took on the presidency on Thursday, has repeatedly vowed to make tackling abuses and cutting government spending and red tape a priority – a message he repeated in his address to almost 3,000 delegates at the parliamentary session's closing ceremony.

Li offered the first measurable commitments, promising to cut the government workforce, halt spending on government offices and hotels, freeze spending on overseas trips and official vehicles and slash the 1,700 processes requiring government approval by a third.

"The central government will lead by example. Local governments must follow suit," he added.

But Dali Yang, a political scientist at the University of Chicago, noted that Li's concrete promises built on ideas already outlined, and said: "You are not going to be held to those."

Niu Jun, a scholar at Peking University's school of international relations, told Associated Press that he did not have "terribly high expectations" of the pledges, but was more impressed by Li's commitment to handle matters according to laws and rules.

"No matter who you are or what you intend to do, you should not exceed the boundaries of the rule of law," Li told reporters.

Yang said that echoed remarks made by other parts of the leadership during the National People's Congress.

"I see a concentrated effort by the new generation of leaders to set the tone on how power should be regulated," he said.

Questions for the annual premier's press conference are vetted in advance, but Li gave a notably confident performance, with a smile that rarely faltered and moments of off-the-cuff humour.

"In pursuing reform we have to navigate uncharted waters. We may also have to confront protracted problems, because we will have to shake up vested interests," said Li.

"Sometimes stirring vested interests may be more difficult than stirring the soul. But however deep the water may be, we will wade into the water because we have no alternative. Reform concerns the destiny of our nation."

He said improving social fairness was crucial to improving satisfaction with the government, closing the gap between urban and rural dwellers and improving the social safety net.

He added a personal touch by stressing his experience of working on the land as a "sent-down youth". He said he would not forget the hardship faced by farmers, but also focused on the way that reform had transformed people's lives.

While hundreds of millions in China have climbed out of poverty, inequality has soared and around an eighth of the population still lives on less than $1.25 per day (83p), according to the United Nations Development Programme.

Li also touched on other sources of widespread discontent, pledging to crack down on food safety offenders with an "iron fist". As smog shrouded the Great Hall of the People, he acknowledged that he too was "quite upset" about recent widespread air pollution.

On Saturday, almost a third of the parliamentary deputies rejected or abstained on the new membership of the environmental protection committee, with 850 opposing, 140 choosing not to vote and another 1,969 supporting.

It is highly unusual for such a high proportion of the legislature to oppose a decision, underlining the growing concern about pollution.

Li shrugged off a question about Chinese cyber-attacks on US systems, reiterating Beijing's complaint that it too is a victim and warning: "I think we should not make groundless accusations against each other, and spend more time doing practical things that will contribute to cyber-security."

He also declined to offer detail on much-anticipated plans to overhaul the government's re-education-through-labour scheme, saying only that they were likely to emerge before the end of the year.

• This article was amended on 17 March 2013 to remove repetition in the second paragraph.