Politburo member Wen Jiabao is tipped to be the only cadre to be promoted to vice-premier at the National People's Congress.
The elevation of Mr Wen, 55, would confirm him as a potential top leader of the party's fourth generation after third-generation stalwarts such as President Jiang Zemin and premier-designate Zhu Rongji retire.
As the NPC opened yesterday, deputies heard that the number of vice-premiers would probably be cut from six to four as part of the overall restructuring of the bureaucracy.
Sources close to the legislature said incumbent vice-premiers Li Lanqing, Wu Bangguo and Qian Qichen would stay, while Jiang Chunyun would become a vice-chairman of the NPC.
The sources said Mr Wen, also a member of the Central Committee secretariat, would focus on such matters as finance and agriculture.
A native of Tianjin, he has spent most of his career as a party functionary but has had plenty of exposure to agriculture. He is also secretary-general of the party's Leading Group on Finance and Economics headed by President Jiang.