In March 1993, over 20 presidents and general managers from private businesses and joint ventures attended the First Plenary Session of the Eighth National Committee of CPPCC, representing the non-state economic sector. They joined specialists and scholars from various walks of life as well as Party and government officials at the meeting to discuss state affairs. This marked the official acceptance of the non-state-owned economy as an integral part of the socialist economy. By the First Plenary Session of the Ninth National Committee of CPPCC, more than 40 representatives from the sector had been elected as members of the CPPCC National Committee.