BEIJING, Oct. 24 (Xinhua) -- A senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has informed leaders of non-communist parties and the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce (ACFIC) of the recent 17th National Congress of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) and its first plenary session.

Liu Yandong, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, called the CPC Congress an important one in the crucial stage of the ongoing reform and opening-up drive, when she briefed the non-communist party leaders on Tuesday.

Liu, head of the United Front Department of the CPC Central Committee, called for seriously studying the essence of the CPC Congress, making it a primary political task for the United Front.

The United Front is one of the main components of the CPC's general line and policy, Liu said, noting that it enjoys an important position in the whole work of the CPC and the State and it should play a positive role in implementing the essence of the 17th CPC Congress.

Present at the briefing were He Luli, Cheng Siwei, Xu Jialu, Jiang Zhenghua, Han Qide, Zhang Kehui, Zhou Tienong, Huang Mengfu,Zhang Huaixi, Li Meng, Zhang Rongming, Wang Guangying, Sun Fuling, Wang Wenyuan, Jiang Shusheng, and Lin Wenyi.

China has eight non-communist parties, namely the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang, the Chinese Democratic League,the China National Democratic Construction Association, the China Association for the Promoting Democracy, the Chinese Peasants and Workers Democratic Party, the China Zhi Gong Party, the Jiu San Society, and the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League.

These non-communist parties have helped the CPC topple the old regime and establish the People's Republic of China in 1949, and since then, they have been working together with the CPC under the framework of the United Front and the Multiparty Cooperation System.

The CPC held its 17th National Congress on October 15-21 and its first plenary session on October 22.