China’s new leadership lineup will be unveiled as thousands of delegates descend on Beijing for the country’s annual parliamentary sessions that will begin in a few days.

Given that Chinese President Xi Jinping has not anointed a potential successor, analysts will be keeping a close watch for clues on how he intends to rule China for years to come.

The new lineup will also likely signal a shift in Beijing’s view of international relations.

Experts say their standing in China’s top echelons reflects Beijing’s ambitions on the global stage.

“It will create a situation in which for a few decades it’s the first time you’ll have a very strong foreign policy team,” said associate professor Li Mingjiang, China programme coordinator at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.

“Many people believe this is Xi Jinping’s idea that now foreign policy and foreign affairs is becoming more and more important. You need more capable, more visionary leaders to steer China’s foreign policy relations. That it’s now time for China to become a global power and to play a global power role and to restore China’s national rejuvenation,” he said.

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