BEIJING - A senior official of the Communist Party of China (CPC) said Wednesday China would continue open recruitment of senior managerial personnel of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) from within the country and abroad.

Li Yuanchao, head of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, made the remarks during a meeting regarding the open recruitment of senior managers and overseas talents in 2010.

The meeting was organized by the Department and the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC), which oversees the operation of the centrally administered SOEs.

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Li stressed the importance of attracting talent from home and abroad to fill positions in the centrally administered SOEs, a major player in China's economy.

Business revenue of the 121 centrally administered SOEs was an equivalent to about 42 percent of China's gross domestic product last year, while the taxes turned in by those SOEs accounted for about 17 percent of the nation's total fiscal revenue.

Li also urged the SOEs to give recruits the opportunity to show their initiative and creativity.

China has opened senior management posts to domestic and overseas applicants since 2001, and has selected 128 senior managers for the centrally administered enterprises.

In 2010, 1,410 candidates from home and abroad applied for vacant posts and 31 of them were appointed, including three who were appointed as general managers of their respective SOEs.