A senior Party official said on October 17 that Wan Gang and Chen Zhu, both non-communist experts, are qualified for their cabinet posts. Ouyang Song, deputy head of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Organization Department, said at a press briefing that to recruit non-communist experts for posts at the cabinet level is an important decision the CPC central leadership has made.

Wan, an auto technologist who worked for Audi for a decade, was appointed minister of science and technology earlier this year. The world-recognized hematologist Chen Zhu was named health minister. Both are from the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), the country's top political advisory body.

"Wan and Chen both have solid academic backgrounds, leadership capability and good working style," Ouyang said, adding, "Our Party will continue choosing more qualified experts from outside the CPC to work for the government with their expertise."