At a group discussion among the National People's Congress (NPC) delegation from Shanghai on Thursday, three deputies had a small debate on how many rounds of applause broke out amid Premier Li Keqiang's government work report a day earlier. The number, varying from 46 to 48 to 52, is almost twice that of previous years.

Some people say the journalists only sit on the third floor of the speech hall, not really focusing on the report itself. Instead they count the applause, which is a shallow and sensational approach to a serious government work report.

This analysis might be too simplified an understanding. There is no necessity to over-interpret how many times people applaud, but there was something behind the timing of each peal of applause.

All the three Shanghai deputies marked on their work report copy where every peal took place. There is a consensus that the applause largely took place at the points where Li's words touched upon key concerns of comprehensively deepening reform. Their numbers vary, because there was applause that didn't spread because the points Li mentioned especially met the demand of a certain group of people. Some counted it while others didn't.

Behind the applause is China's interest diversification. Of the nearly 3,000 NPC deputies, each comes with a proposal, not by themselves, but pushed by a specific group or community behind them. Topics of the proposals range from the bankruptcy mechanism of State-owned Enterprises, curbing smog, cultural relic auction rules to funding for attracting overseas talent. The NPC session serves as a platform for voicing various demands. It is up to the government to prioritize all these urgent needs and include some in future implementation. But the government just has too many demands to satisfy.

In the past two days at different group discussions, one can hear comments on the 2014 government work plans included in Wednesday's report. Some deputies say they would stress in their written submission the points missed in the government's 2014 plans, while others are glad that their expectations have been stressed by the premier but will follow up with further detailed work.

The contention among different interests is increasingly apparent, and one of the most urgent tasks is to boost social consensus in feasible ways. It is widely agreed that the work report shows  cool-headedness while judging the status quo of development. But this is just the very beginning of the year of comprehensive deepening of reforms.