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Liu Xinwen, a 48-year-old female former deputy mayor of Beihai City, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, was recently elected vice-chairwoman of the autonomous region at the First Session of the Tenth People's Congress of Guangxi. Liu immediately attracted much attention in the regional political circle for her gender and age, and for her status as a non-Communist. Liu is a member of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang. Yet nationwide, non-Communists holding senior government positions is no longer a new phenomenon. Around 7,000 people from non-Communist parties or with no party affiliation have been appointed as deputy leaders or assistants of government organizations at or above county level in China, according to statistics from October 2002. Among them, 27 serve as provincial vice-governors, vice-chairpersons of autonomous regions, deputy mayors of municipalities directly under the Central Government and assistants to chief officials in these areas. By the end of 2002, more than 120,000 non-Communists were serving as people's delegates to the People's Congress at various levels and over 240,000 as members of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) at all levels. "It's an indication that the Communist Party of China (CPC) values its cooperation with democratic parties and the role of people without any party affiliations," said an analyst in Beijing. Liu Xinwen was given the portfolio of foreign trade and economic cooperation during her tenure as deputy mayor of Beihai, which began in April 2001. In 2002, imports and exports of Beihai City jumped 34.26 percent year-on-year to 101 million US dollars. In the first 11 months of 2002, Beihai used 22.6 million dollars of foreign investment, up 24.9 percent.