About 2.86 million members of the Communist Party of China (CPC) were working for private enterprises by the end of 2006, according to the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee.

There were also 810,000 CPC members among the ranks of the self-employed, said a document released by the department here Thursday.

There were a total of 178,000 CPC organs in private firms in 2006, a rise of 79.8 percent over 2002, and 94.2 percent of them had at least three Party members.

At its 16th National Congress held in Beijing in 2002, the CPC took a significant step forward by including in its constitution provisions relating to party organs in the private sector.

Early this year the organization department said that about 330,000 Party workers have been sent to private enterprises to help organize party organs and recruit members.

The CPC now has 70 million members.