China is set to unveil key legal reforms this week that will try to limit the influence local officials have on court cases, a move being closely watched by the business community.

The announcement is expected at the end of a meeting of Communist Party of China leaders, to be held from Monday to Thursday, with the theme "rule of law".

The meeting, called a plenum, comes at a time when slowing economic growth in the world's second-largest economy is raising the prospect of more commercial disputes.