President Xi extends greetings to women during Two Sessions

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‍Chinese President Xi Jinping extended his good wishes to women on International Women's Day during a panel discussion at the ongoing Two Sessions in Beijing.

"Women hold up half the sky," Xi said while meeting with deputies to the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) from east China's Shandong Province on Thursday.

"They make great contributions and sacrifices to our country building, and they are dedicated to domestic roles such as family building, children's education and elderly caring," he noted.

President Xi extended his greetings to and best wishes for all female lawmakers, political advisers and staff workers at the annual Two Sessions, and to women compatriots of all ethnic groups and from all walks of life in China.

There are 743 female deputies at the first session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC), accounting for nearly 25 percent of the total number of lawmakers.

Meanwhile, the 13th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country's top political advisory body, has 441 female members, accounting for over 20 percent of all advisers.

President Xi Jinping joins lawmakers from Shandong Province at a panel discussion on the sidelines of the annual Two Sessions in Beijing, March 8, 2018. /Xinhua Photo

During the panel discussion, Xi also urged lawmakers and officials to take responsibility and acknowledge accountability.

Shandong is one of China's largest eastern provinces, with both wealthy coastal cities and vast under-developed rural areas.

The president praised the province's progress over the past five years, and stressed rural revitalization in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020.

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