Indonesia, March 10 -- China's annual "two sessions" have drawn elevated global attention this year, as lawmakers prepare not only to set the agenda for the coming year but also to approve a plan that could shape the country's trajectory through the end of the decade.

The meetings of China's top legislature and top political advisory body convene against a backdrop of deepening global turbulence. As geopolitical rivalries increasingly flout established rules and conflicts escalate in the Middle East, the international order faces unprecedented strain.

Policy choices of China -- the world's second-largest economy and home to 1.4 billion people -- reverberate far beyond its borders. The direction set at this year's "two sessions" will the...