( CNN ) -- China 's National People 's Congress ( NPC ) meets every year and brings about 3,000 national delegates together in Beijing 's Great Hall of the People to discuss government reports , pass legislation and formalize appointments of government officials . The NPC is constitutionally the highest organ of government power in China although it has long been considered a rubber-stamp parliament . It passes virtually every measure , resolution and law put forward by the government or the Chinese Communist Party . Since the early 1990s , the NPC has passed several laws aimed at building up a legal system and has sought to promulgate a `` rule by law '' rather than a `` rule by men '' -- an attempt to steer the party away from its Maoist structures to fit more closely the international norms that govern the world 's capital markets . The raft of new legislation passed at the NPC includes labor laws , securities laws , corporation laws , banking laws and environmental protection laws . The body also has the power to elect , dismiss and reassign local and central government officials , including the state president , the premier , top judges and ministers . Despite this , elections are carefully choreographed , and typically there is only one candidate for one position . Token disapproval or dissent is usually shown by means of abstentions rather than straight `` no '' votes . Xi Jinping and a new , younger crop of leaders are set to lead the Communist Party and the government over the next 10 years . The Communist Party is due for the reshuffle in the fall and the government will follow suit in spring 2013 . Barring any big surprises , current vice premier Li Keqiang , a protege of President Hu , is set to replace Premier Wen Jiabao , who will retire . When China 's leaders convene , they will have a wide range of problems to tackle . Among them : . -- How to keep the economy growing at a fast enough rate ( the IMF currently estimates growth at 8.2 % ) at a time when the global economy is in recession . Much of the Communist Party 's legitimacy is predicated on economic growth which mitigates unemployment and social tensions . -- How quickly China can shift its economic growth model from manufacturing and exports to domestic consumption and services . -- How to bridge the growing divide between the rich and the poor to maintain social stability . -- How to keep these problems in check without significantly changing the political system and how to deal with pressure for political reforms . -- How to keep ethnic unrest in places like Xinjiang and Tibet in check . -- How to deal with the growing desire in Taiwan , Macau and Hong Kong for more freedom while at the same time maintaining China 's claim of sovereignty over them . Hong Kong is likely to be in focus this congress because of its upcoming elections . -- How to manage its growing economic and political strength overseas without triggering a backlash among other countries , especially its neighbors and the United States . Following three decades of economic reform , China is now an extremely complex and diverse country . Problems of regional rivalries , corruption , environmental degradation , joblessness , fiscal shakiness , massive in-migration and social tension are now visible features of China 's political and social landscape . What the CCP will have to face is that the old way of governing -- rule by edict over a submissive and poorly informed population -- is no longer working . More and more Chinese are informed through the power of the media , particularly through microblogging sites like Weibo which are now a valuable litmus of popular public opinion . More than 500 million Chinese are internet users , and the country 's microbloggers are believed to number more than 200 million users . More and more Chinese are unafraid to air their grievances , leading to thousands of `` mass incidents '' or spontaneous protests every year sparked by corruption , environmental damage , official abuse and land grabs .
China 's National People 's Congress meets every year . The Congress is largely a rubber stamp parliament . It nevertheless gives outsiders a rare glimpse into the direction of Chinese policy . The Congress is set to authorize the appointment of Xi Jinping to lead the party .