REUTERS/Thomas PeterSHANGHAI, March 5 (Reuters) - China's science and technology policies should aim to build the country's strength and self-reliance, while companies take the lead in pushing innovation, Premier Li Keqiang said on Sunday. The country effectively countered external attempts to suppress and contain China’s development over the past five years by promoting development of the real economy through innovation and fostering new drivers of growth, he said. President Xi Jinping has urged the country to strengthen its self-reliance in science and technology and continue to strive as a global tech power. The platform economy comprises China's largest tech companies, such as Alibaba Group (9988.HK) and Tencent Holdings (0700.HK). Such firms were the targets of a long, bruising regulatory crackdown that Beijing says it is now easing.

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