Jia, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, made the remark at a national meeting of directors of the Party's united front work departments at the provincial level.

To fulfill the goal, the Party would continue joining hands with other non-communist parties, and uniting people from all ethnic groups, people with or without religious belief, people from all walks of life including farmers, workers and intellectuals, and people living in the mainland and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, as well as compatriots overseas, he said.

With the development of the socialist market economy and the expansion of opening up, great social changes have taken place in China. Emerging in the process, entrepreneurs and technical personnel employed by non-public scientific and technological enterprises, managerial and technical employed by overseas-funded enterprises, the self-employed, private entrepreneurs, employees in intermediaries, free-lance professionals and members of other social strata are all builders of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

"They are new social forces we need to unite with," Jia said, adding that they should be encouraged to contribute more to China's economic development and their legitimate rights and interests should be protected.

He also called for unswerving support to the growth of the private sector and more measures to encourage those who are studying abroad to develop their careers back in China.

"We should support and help non-communist parties and people without party affiliation to put forward advice and proposals on stimulating domestic demand, accelerating economic restructuring, promoting reforms and opening up, and strengthening employment and reemployment, as well as social security," Jia said.

(Xinhua News Agency December 28, 2002)