The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference spokesman, Wu Jianmin, speaks at a press conference in Beijing yesterday.- Xinhua

THE First Session of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country's top political advisory body, opens this afternoon.

The session is scheduled to end on the morning of March 14, Wu Jianmin, spokesman for the session, told a press conference yesterday.

Jia Qinglin, chairman of the 10th CPPCC National Committee, will deliver a report on the work of the CPPCC National Committee's Standing Committee over the past year, while Zhang Meiying, vice chairperson of the 10th CPPCC National Committee, will report how the suggestions and proposals from CPPCC members were handled since the last session, Wu said.

More than 2,000 CPPCC members are expected to discuss the report on government work delivered by Premier Wen Jiabao, a plan on restructuring central departments under the State Council, and reports on the work of the Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate.

They will also elect a chairperson, vice chairpersons and secretary-general of the 11th CPPCC National Committee, and also members of the Standing Committee of the 11th CPPCC National Committee.

In addition, political advisers will adopt a political resolution, several other resolutions and reports at the annual session.

Wu said that more eligible non-Communists are expected to become high-ranking officials in China following last year's appointments of two non-Communist ministers. "Many non-Communist personages have taken up posts at government departments and judicial bodies since China started its reform and opening up toward the late 1970s," he said.

Wan Gang, of the China Zhi Gong Dang (Party for Public Interest), was appointed Minister of Science and Technology last April, and Chen Zhu, non-party member, became Minister of Health.

Their appointments represented "major moves" by the Communist Party of China (CPC) in enhancing socialist democracy and pushing forward multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of the CPC, Wu said. "Across China, more than 31,000 non-Communists are working as officials at and above county level, of whom at least 6,000 work at government organizations and judicial bodies at various levels," he said.

China's 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions have in total 30 non-Communist vice governors.