(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-12-20 22:34

Chen Changzhi was elected chairman of the China National Democratic Construction Association (CNDCA), one of the country's eight non-Communist parties, on Thursday.

Chen Changzhi.[file]

The CNDCA elected its new central committee during the final day of its five-day ninth national congress.

In addition, Zhang Rongming, Ma Peihua, Cheng Yiju, Wang Shaojie, Zhen Zhengli, Zhang Shaoqin, Gu Shengzu, Song Hai, Li Dang and Zhou Hanmin were elected vice chairpersons at the first plenum of the party's Ninth Central Committee that was held during the congress.

At the CNDCA congress, delegates heard and deliberated a report of the party's eighth central committee and approved a draft amendment to the party's constitution.

Chen said at the closing session that the party would carry forward its historical tradition and unswervingly follow the political development path of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

"All CNDCA members should incorporate the essence of the 17th CPC Congress into their mind and daily work, and make efforts to improve themselves so as to better fulfil their duty of participating in and deliberating on state affairs."

The congress called on party members to contribute to the country's building of "a comparatively well-off society in an all-round way".

Chen Changzhi, a native of Xiaogan in central China's Hubei Province, was born in 1945.

An economics graduate of Sichuan University, he taught in Sichuan in 1970-1971 and then worked at the Cultural and Educational Bureau of Jinyang County in the province for about nine years.

After taking postgraduate study at his alma mater, he moved by stages up to assistant professor at the university.

During this period he joined the CNDCA in 1985, and by 2002 had become vice chairman of its central committee.

Chen was deputy secretary-general of the CPPCC Sichuan Provincial Committee for nine years. In 1998, he was named a member of the standing committee of the 9th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country's top political advisory body.

Again moving from a provincial to national position, he was deputy director of the Sichuan Provincial Department of Supervision in 1994 and four years later was appointed a vice-minister of Supervision.

The China National Democratic Construction Association was founded by patriotic industrialists, business people and intellectuals in Chongqing on December 16, 1945.

Its members are mainly business people.

The CNDCA has branches in 30 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government, with more than 108,000 members nationwide.

In mid November, China issued its first ever white paper on its political party system.

China adopted a system of multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), namely the multi-party cooperation system, the white paper titled "China's Political Party System" said.

The multi-party cooperation system was a major manifestation of socialist democracy of China and also one of China's fundamental political system.

"The leadership of the Communist Party of China and full exercise of socialist democracy are the essential requirements of the multi-party cooperation system," the white paper said.