China's two million job cut is casting a shadow over the upcoming annual session of the National People's Congress, which is set to open this weekend.

Around 3,000 delegates - including China's top leaders and the country's richest - will gather in Beijing for China's National People's Congress, the largest annual political event in the country.

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While the event is largely seen overseas as a ministerial affair - with the rubber stamp parliament approving national matters which have already  been approved behind closed doors - the event is still seen by the world media as an opportunity to field questions to high-ranking leaders.

                                                     1.8 million workers

Reports indicate that one of the top topics that will be discussed at the upcoming gathering is China's announcement that it will lay off 1.8 million workers from state-owned coal and steel companies.

The impending lay is already being felt by workers in China's steel companies as many claim they have not received their salaries for months already.

"Job losses are a temporary problem", senior official Wang Guoqing said at a press conference in Beijing this week. "We will ensure that the economy grows in a sustainable way," he said.

                                                    Zombie companies

Observers will be closely watching the speed with which state-owned companies will retrench workers including the proliferation of 'zombie companies.'

'Zombie companies' refer to state-owned companies that have shut down but continue to pay its workers in an effort to keep the closure a secret to minimize reports of unemployment figures.

"They haven't set a timeline for [the layoffs], so it'll be interesting to see how quickly they move because obviously it has some social stability aspects to it," Beijing-based analyst Tom Rafferty, said.

                                                 Premier Li Keqiang

Analysts are expecting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to set a 6.5 percent GDP growth target for China in the coming year amid the country's slowing economy.

Analysts are also expecting an announcement of an increase in military budget and spending to cover a gamut of expenses including redundancy payments for up to 300,000 military personnel set to be axed. 

TagsNational People's Congress, Premier Li Keqiang, retrenchment, slow economy, china