Sources from Beijing said Lam’s name has been omitted from the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference's list of new members, a list that was seen during a three-day meeting in Beijing from Sunday to discuss the new members.

Lam, who retired as Hong Kong chief executive last July, was previously speculated to become a CPPCC vice-chairwoman. But first she will need to become a CPPCC member.

Two of the city's former chief executives - Tung Chee-hwa and Leung Chun-ying - were appointed to state-leader roles as CPPCC vice-chairmen after their tenures.

Last June, Lam was asked in a radio program if she would take Beijing's invitation to become a CPPCC vice-chair. She refused to respond to the hypothetical question but added: "I don't have ambitions."

Separately, former World Health Organization director-general and ex-director of health in Hong Kong Margaret Chan Fung Fu-chun is on the list of CPPCC members, along with tycoon Victor Li Tzar-kuoi and Chairperson of the board of West Kowloon Henry Tang Ying-yen.

They will likely remain as members of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of CPPCC, sources said.