Vice Premier Li Keqiang on Tuesday promised to give support to the development of Liaoning Province, an industrial base in northeastern China, when he discussed the government work report with the National People’s Congress (NPC) delegates from the province.

Li once worked in Liaoning Province for three years and remains one of Liaoning's NPC delegates. He said he felt at home every time he saw familiar faces of people from the northeastern province. Li said Liaoning is an important province in China, and as an old industrial base, it has made special contribution to China's development.

As one of the country’s traditional manufacturing bases producing heavy machinery, Liaoning suffered a decline during China's economic reform and opening up during the late 20th century. Millions of workers were laid off, and many of them lived in the "shanty districts."

"I went to the shanty areas and visited the homes of the workers who once made great contribution to the industrial construction," Li said. "Looking at their poor living condition, I felt very sad and burst into tears."

The reconstruction of the shanty districts in Liaoning has always been a priority for Li. When Wang Yang, secretary of CPC Fuxin Committee, delivered a speech on boosting the construction of houses for low-income people, Li was especially attentive and asked Wang to elaborate on many details in his report.

Li also showed great interests on the topics of other delegates. He asked the Board Chairman of Shengjing Bank Zhang Yukun a series of questions in regard to loans the bank provides to small and medium-sized enterprises. He called on the banks to provide more support for local SMEs.

Later, the vice premier engaged Shenyang Mayor Chen Haibo in questions regarding the environmental impact of the city’s urban development projects. Li said that the ecological protection was a key to the revitalization of the northeastern industrial bases.

Li holds the position of director of the Office of the State Council Leading Group for Deepening the Reform of Medicare and Health System. He listened to and took notes during Jinzhou Health Bureau Director Liu Hua’s report on the department’s efforts on promoting healthcare system reform.

"Many [Liaoning] delegates constantly asked me to return 'home.' Although I can't make it every time, my thoughts are always with Liaoning," Li said after the meeting session.