The party will spell out those plans to the 3,000-member, rubber-stamp National People's Congress -- and the country -- in what observers expect to be a national pep rally that opens Thursday for about 10 days.

But behind that facade lurks deep concern over slowing growth, spiralling unemployment, and fears of a resulting spike in social unrest in a country that sees countless protests each year even in the best of times.

"The (party) will try to show the people the economic situation won't worsen and the government is on top of it," said Willy Lam, a China political analyst at Chinese University of Hong Kong.

"But the leadership is really nervous, and with good reason, about rising unrest as the economy worsens."

To help soothe the national mood, the congress is due to approve the most significant social security legislation in a generation during the session.

The Social Security Law promises universal access to basic medical, workplace injury and unemployment insurance, as well as retirement pensions -- benefits stripped from millions amid China's 30-year economic transformation.

"Social stability will be the overriding theme," a congress delegate who asked not to be named told AFP.

"Government spending will be stepped up to maintain social stability as the global financial crisis deepens," he said.

As with every parliamentary season -- which begins Tuesday with the annual session of a separate legislative advisory body -- security in Beijing is expected to be ultra-tight to stop protesters from making their voices heard.

China's leadership has already made its fears over social unrest clear, with President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao warning 2009 will be China's toughest year in a decade, with millions thrown out of work.

Fears of resulting unrest are heightened by a series of sensitive anniversaries.

They include 50 years since a March 10 uprising in Tibet, 20 years since the Tiananmen Square crackdown in June, and October's 60th anniversary of the founding of Communist China.

The government has already announced a 580-billion-dollar stimulus package and several industry-specific plans. And Wen, who has called for more "extraordinary" measures, is expected to promise more.

Those steps, plus increased social spending, will help put the national budget to be reviewed by the legislature into an expected record deficit of 950 billion yuan (140 billion dollars), according to figures flagged in the state-run press.

But that will be money well-spent for China's leaders, experts say.

Besides easing public fears, it is hoped the social spending will help increase domestic consumption as citizens no longer feel compelled to pinch pennies for future medical, retirement and other costs.

That further links in with the government's hopes to pivot from an economic reliance on Chinese exports to one supported more by domestic consumption.

"Exports just are not working. They depend too much on international demand, so if the US suffers, you suffer. We're talking about changing the growth engine," said Chen Xingdong, a Beijing-based economist with BNP Paribas.

Other measures due to be discussed include a new food safety law aimed at ending chronic scandals over dangerous food products and a labour contract law that requires work contracts for all employees in a bid to protect their rights.

China's fast-modernising military, meanwhile, is expected to get its annual funding increase.

But the focus will be on the economy and stability, at the expense of glacial efforts at political reform and greater openness, Lam said.

"Political reform is pretty much dead in the water. It's been totally put on the back-burner. They are worried that if they loosen up even a little, they could lose some control," he said.

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