Hu Jintao joins a panel discussion with delegates of Jiangsu province on Tuesday. He listens to the delegates talk about social and economic development in the rich eastern province, and discuss his report delivered at the start of the Party congress on Monday. (Xinhua Photo)

Hu Jintao took a commoner's approach on Tuesday while he joined the Jiangsu delegation to the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) to listen to the delegates talk about social and economic development in the rich eastern province, and discuss his report delivered at the start of the Party congress on Monday.

Jiangsu's Party chief Li Yuanchao and other officials praised the country's past five years as "having maintained sustainable, fast, coordinated and healthy development" and "having improved the lives of ordinary people", citing the province's own growth in the meantime.

Hu urged the province to fully exploit its advantages and take the lead in transforming the mode of economic growth in accordance with the Scientific Outlook on Development.

"We stress sound and rapid development, better quality, efficiency and an enlightened approach to development that results in expanded production, a better life and sound ecological and environmental conditions," he said.

Delegate Wu Renbao, former Party chief of Huaxi Village, China's richest, spoke highly of the Party congress. "The report is comprehensible to ordinary farmers," he said.

"I would like to keep working although I'm old," 79-year-old Wu said. Hearing that, Hu Jintao was the first to applaud with a broad smile.

Chen Qiuyan, who cleans the sewage treatment system in Xuzhou City, was excited about her second meeting with Hu. "We will carefully study and put into practice the essence of the congress," she said.

Hu visited Chen and her colleagues during a visit to Jiangsu in 1996.

"Please forward my best regards to your colleagues," said Hu. "I hope your working and living conditions have improved with the past decade's economic growth and hope you'll do an even better job," Hu said with a gentle voice.

Toward the end of the two-hour discussion, Hu said that the report he made on behalf of the 16th CPC Central Committee is a product of democracy and crystallizes the collective wisdom of the entire Party and all the Chinese people.

After deliberations and revisions at the Party congress, the report will become a political proclamation and action plan to guide the Party in uniting all the Chinese people to seek better development along the path of building socialism with Chinese characteristics, Hu said.

(Xinhua News Agency October 16, 2007)