China's Political Season: President Xi joins panel discussion for Shandong grassroots delegation

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What issues did the president touch upon, and how did the deputies react to the discussion? Our reporter Han Peng has the story.

Returning from a face-to-face talk with the President, Deputy Zhuo Changli said she was greatly surprised.

ZHUO CHANGLI NPC DEPUTY "I didn't expect the President to know in such detail about our work in the grassroots."

Zhuo became jobless in the late 1990s. For years, she struggled to make ends meet by babysitting before she earned enough money to start her own housekeeping firm in Shandong.

ZHUO CHANGLI NPC DEPUTY "This is not my first time to meet the President. Back in 2013, he visited my company and said I was in a sunrise business because it created jobs for the rural poor and provided necessary service for the urban middle class. This time, I reported to him about the recent progress we made. He told me we deserve great respect from society for what we are doing."

For other deputies, it was their first time to talk to the President in person.

ZOU NING NPC DEPUTY "I was overwhelmed to see the President. He focused on the marine economy during the discussion, and I happen to be a scientist working on the ecological conservation of the ocean. I held his hands and told him that I can help fulfill the country's goal of turning the sea into our sustainable gold mine."

Shandong is one of China's largest northern provinces, with both wealthy coastal cities and vast underdeveloped rural areas."

WANG SHILING NPC DEPUTY "The President laid out detailed plans for rural revitalization in Shandong. He told us great aspirations need on-the-ground work to make them happen. I must bring the message back."

HAN PENG BEIJING Now it's almost become a tradition for the President to attend a couple of panel discussions during the Two Sessions. It's widely seen as an important channel for local grassroots to talk directly to the central Chinese leadership. Han Peng, CGTN, Beijing.