China's top legislature has approved the cabinet nomination of Wan Gang, a non-Communist party member, as the country's new minister of science and technology.

Wan, a member of the China Zhi Gong (Public Interest) Party, replaces 65-year-old Xu Guanhua, becoming the only current non-Communist party minister in China's State Council.

He is also the first cabinet minister from the non-Communist party since the late 1970s when China launched its economic reform and opening-up drive.

A former automobile engineer at the Audi Corporation in Germany, Wan, born in August 1952, was president of Shanghai's Tongji University before his new appointment.

Wan, a Shanghai native, is vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Zhi Gong Party, a non-Communist political party with more than 15,600 members.

Founded in 1925, the China Zhi Gong Party is mainly composed of returned overseas Chinese, relatives of overseas Chinese, and noted figures and scholars who have overseas ties.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) approved the nomination at the conclusion of its four-day bimonthly session on Friday.

"The appointment of a non-CPC member as cabinet minister is an important move in implementing and improving the system of the multi-party cooperation and political consultation under the leadership of Communist Party," an official with the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee told Xinhua.

"It is a strategic step in pushing forward the socialist political construction," said the official, who declined to be named.

It also demonstrated that the development of China's socialist democracy has provided a wider channel for non-CPC members to participate into China's political affairs, the official said.

In the 1950s, a number of non-Communist members were appointed ministers in the country's cabinet, but they were soon dismissed during the "anti-rightist" movement.

In recent years, the CPC Central Committee has issued a series of directives and recommendations to promote non-CPC members to political positions.

In 2005, the CPC Central Committee ordered all local governments and departments at or above county level to open up the top jobs to non-CPC members and non-politically affiliated people.

The directive also stipulated that the State Council, the country's highest administrative body, should pay particular attention to appointing non-CPC members and non-politically affiliated candidates to ministerial positions or their equivalents.

By January this year, more than 32,000 non-CPC members were holding leading positions above the county-level at governments and law enforcement departments at various levels, according to statistics from the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee.

More than 180,000 non-Communist Party deputies now serve in national or local people's congresses, and about 340,000 are serving on national or local political consultative conferences, China's political advisory bodies.

Wan began to work at the research and development department of the German Audi Corporation in 1991, when he graduated with honors from the Clausthal Technical University in Germany with a Ph.D degree in Mechanical Engineering.

In 1996, he was promoted to technical manager in the production and technology division, and took charge of information manufacturing technology as well as management.

Wan's leadership and contributions to many technological innovations are said to have helped the company achieve outstanding financial results.

In 2000, Wan made a strategic proposal to China's State Council to develop a new type of automobile propelled by new clean fuel, with a view to transforming China's auto industry.

His proposal received a warm response from the Ministry of Science and Technology and the then State Economic and Trade Commission.

By the end of 2000, Wan returned home at the invitation of the Ministry of Science and Technology and was appointed chief scientist and group leader of a key national electric vehicle project.

In April 2001, he began to work in Tongji as director of the center of new fuel automobile. Four months later, he became Assistant President of Tongji. In July 2004, Wan was promoted to president of the university.

Also on Friday, the NPC Standing Committee approved the nomination of Yang Jiechi, former ambassador to the United States, as new foreign minister, replacing Li Zhaoxing.

Xu Shaoshi takes over from Sun Wensheng as minister of land and resources. Chen Lei was appointed minister of water resources, replacing Wang Shucheng.

Li, Sun and Wang have all reached the customary retirement age.

(Xinhua News Agency April 27, 2007)