Besides the CPC, there are eight other political parties. They are: China Revolutionary Committee of the Kuomintang, China Democratic League, China Democratic National Construction Association, China Association for the Promotion of Democracy, Chinese Peasants and Workers' Democratic Party, China Zhi Gong Dang, Jiusan Society, and Taiwan Democratic Self-government League. Most of them came into being and developed during the War of Resistance Against Japan and the War of Liberation. They supported the CPC leadership politically, and this was the historic choice they made during the long years when they cooperated and fought side by side with the CPC. These non-Communist parties enjoy political freedom, organizational independence and lawful equality within the fixed scope of the Constitution of the state. The basic principle of the cooperation between the CPC and the other parties is long-term coexistence, mutual supervision, sincere treatment with each other and the sharing of weal and woe.

The non-Communist parties are neither parties out of office nor opposition parties. They are parties fully participating in the political life of the nation. At present, all the standing committees of the people's congresses, the committees of the CPPCC and government agencies at all levels and the economic, cultural, educational, scientific and technological and other departments have members of the non-Communist parties as leaders. For instance, the current chairpersons of the eight non-Communist parties' central committees hold the posts of vice-chairpersons of the NPC Standing Committee and the CPPCC National Committee. The ranks of the non-Communist parties have also swelled. All the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities and large and medium cities now have local and basic organizations of the non-Communist parties.

In November and December 2002, the eight non-Communist parties held their own national congresses, in which they adopted their own constitutional amendments, and elected the central committees of the new term.