Wherever Zhang Lianqi goes, he's always sure to take two things with him -- a photo of his son and his laptop.

"I am too busy to take care of or even meet my 15-year-old son, so I need to take his photo," says Zhang.

As a partner of the Beijing-based China Rightson Certified Public Accountants Co., Ltd., which employs 1,000 professionals and has several branches in different cities, Zhang loses count of the number of business trips he makes every year.

Another important thing that 43-year-old Zhang needs to do whenever he finds time is to "write suggestions in my laptop regarding solving thorny economic issues for the government and the Party," he says.

A "liaison person" of the United Front Work Department (UFWD) of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Zhang takes advantage of his job, learning from customers, colleagues and economists on how to properly develop his profession and the country's economy.

"Recently, I wrote two reports for the UFWD. One was a warning of economic overheating, suggesting a variety of policies to reduce liquidity and better control credit flows. Another was about a possible stock market bubble," Zhang says. "The two topics are a little bit big for me, but I think they are crucial. I spent several months on them, collecting materials, talking to economists and using my own knowledge to analyze, and finally complete my reports," says Zhang, who earned a doctorate in economics from Peking University.

He is certain that his two reports will be transferred by UFWD to government departments for reference. Zhang has more than ten years of working experience in a private accounting firm, and earned a decent income, and yet often felt "disconnected from society" until he attended a "theoretical research class" in 2006, which was designed specifically for China's "new social stratum" and sponsored by the UFWD.

"I learned about the country's fundamental economic and political system, the general economic and political situation at home and abroad. My classmates and I also inspected the remote and backward countryside to learn about the national situation," he says. 

"Being a liaison person of the UFWD, providing suggestions for the government and attending UFWD class, I get a communication channel to ruling authorities and learn about my place in society, " Zhang says.

The concept of a "new social stratum" officially emerged in former Chinese President Jiang Zemin's speech to mark the 80th anniversary of the founding of the CPC in 2001.

He said that since the reform and opening-up began in China in the late 1970s, a "new social stratum" had emerged and many of its members contributed greatly to society through honest work and lawful business.

They were also the builders of China's socialist cause along with workers, farmers, intellectuals, cadres and the members of People's Liberation Army, said Jiang.

When the CPC was founded in 1921, the Party mainly represented workers and farmers. 

Like Zhang Lianqi, Lin Kaiwen is also a member of such new social stratum. Chairman of the board of the Shanghai Kaiquan Pump Group Co., Ltd., Lin also attended the "theoretical research class" in 2006.