Politburo group-studies national security: what Xi says on "holistic" NatSec could mean
Open-sourced information to put NatSec, as Beijing now sees it, into context
Highlights:
1. NatSec has been raised to unprecedented high prominence in Beijing, now on par with 发展 Development.
2. The keyword is a 总体国家安全观 holistic approach to national security, meaning the Party and government work which previously, conventionally thought to be unrelated to NatSec, now must take their NatSec implications into consideration.
NatSec, in proper context, is now a broadly-defined term - not narrowly restricted to, let’s say, defense, intelligence, or public security. With the coronavirus pandemic in mind, public health is also NatSec.
Your Pekingnologist will even go out on a limb and say cutting crucial supplies such as crude oil or essential chips that are at the bottleneck of China’s development, could also be NatSec issues.
3. Party and especially the Party Central Committee’s leadership of NatSec has been emphasized - it’s not any single Party/Govt organ’s own responsibility.
4. Identify and resolve (nip?) hidden dangers that may bring significant risks in the bud.
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Since NatSec is a sensitive subject anywhere and many subscribers actually cover, study, or even work in NatSec, allow your Pekingnologist to emphasize this is a PERSONAL, UNPAID newsletter trying to use OPEN-SOURCED information to put China news into context and perspective. Nothing more, nothing less.
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As noted earlier, the Politburo as a group gathered once (almost) every month to study a particular subject. In What did the Politburo learn in 2020?, Pekingnology comprehensively reviewed these sessions in the first 11 months of this year.
A Saturday, Nov. 12 readout revealed the Politburo held a session on the same day, focusing on national security. Here is an incomplete English translation.
As usual, today’s group-study session invites an expert: Yuan Peng, President of China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations (CICIR).
Not sure if Yuan would like to see this, but it would be journalistic malpractice not to mention the Reuters exclusive news in May, which has been out in the open for months but your Pekingnologist can NOT independently verify.
Yuan’s official, English-language bio says he followed American studies for decades and highlighted his interests in Sino-U.S. relations, Asia-Pacific security, and China's foreign policy.
The readout, as usual, did NOT reveal what the invited expert said at the group study session. So, your Pekingnologist did some homework on Yuan’s recent writing to see if he touched on NatSec in public.
These sentences are from his Chinese-language article titled 新冠疫情与百年变局 Coronavirus pandemic and profound changes unseen in a century on the 5th issue of Contemporary International Relations, the official publication of the CICIR, in May or June.
经济基础决定上层建筑，经济安全是国家安全和国际安全的基础
The economic foundation determines the superstructure, and economic security is the basis of national and international security.
必须摆正发展与安全的关系。此次新冠疫情暴露出的生物安全问题，以及在总体国家安全观之下列举的种种国家安全问题，表明发展需要以安全为保障，否则对外有可能面临半渡而击的风险，对内则可能是经济发展的成就一夜归零。发展固然是硬道理，但改革开放40年后的发展则需要加一个前缀，“安全的发展”才是真正的硬道理。
The relationship between development and security must be set right. The biosecurity issues revealed by the coronavirus pandemic and the various national security issues listed under the holistic approach to national security show that development needs to be guaranteed by security. Otherwise, from the outside, there is a risk of being-attacked halfway across the water, and internally, the achievements of economic development might be reduced to zero overnight. Development is of course the hard truth, but the development after 40 years of reform and opening up needs to be prefixed with "development with security" as the real hard truth.
NOTES:
Economic security is the basis of NatSec, so, at least according to Yuan at the time, threats to China’s key economic infrastructure or supplies could be understood as NatSec issues.
发展（才）是硬道理 Development is the hard truth is what Pekingnologists would call a 提法, one of the prescribed formulations/set phrases/Party-govt special phrasings. It was from Deng Xiaoping’s famous 1992 trip to southern China, meaning economic development is China’s top priority.
Essentially, Yuan believes the set phrase needs to be prefixed with security, supposedly because he believes that’s the requirement of the times and development stage China is currently in - challenges in NatSec now requires it.
Perhaps not coincidentally, some of Yuan’s writings made it into the most important part of the readout - General Secretary Xi Jinping’s remarks in this Politburo group study session, which will be noted below. Xi’s remarks include:
把国家安全贯穿到党和国家工作各方面全过程，同经济社会发展一起谋划、一起部署，坚持系统思维，构建大安全格局，
Emphasize national security in the whole process and all aspects of the work of the Party and the country, make plans and arrangements for national security in coordination with those for economic and social development, adhere to systematic thinking in building a holistic national security architecture.
NOTES: “systematic” “holistic” are words in generality. Basically, it means every part of economics, society, and the undertakings of the Party and the government involves elements of NatSec. Put it another way, NatSec is everywhere, and every Party and government function should take into consideration their work’s relevance and impact on NatSec.
党的十九届五中全会《建议》首次把统筹发展和安全纳入“十四五”时期我国经济社会发展的指导思想，并列专章作出战略部署，突出了国家安全在党和国家工作大局中的重要地位。这是由我国发展所处的历史方位、国家安全所面临的形势任务决定的。
Coordinating development and security has been written as a guiding thought into the Communist Party of China Central Committee’s Proposals for China’s 14th Five Year Plan (2021-2025), and there is a whole chapter devoted to coordinating development and security, which is a historic first. This illustrates NatSec’s importance in the Party and Country’s agenda. This is determined by the historical orientation of China's development, the current situation and tasks that its national security now faces.
NOTES: NatSec is now more prominent than ever.
我们党诞生于国家内忧外患、民族危难之时，对国家安全的重要性有着刻骨铭心的认识。
Our party was born at a time of China's internal and external problems and national distress, with a deep-seated understanding of the importance of NatSec.
NOTES: The CPC was established in 1921, when internally it was a divided mess with political chaos, economic weakness, and social misery. Externally, Jiaozhou/Kiautschou Bay, as the colony changed hands from Germany to Japan, despite China’s victory as a member of the Allies in the World War. As a result, there was no NatSec to speak of, and the CPC is fully aware of the painful history.
Xi put forward 10 requirements for pursuing a holistic approach to national security:
一是坚持党对国家安全工作的绝对领导，坚持党中央对国家安全工作的集中统一领导，加强统筹协调，把党的领导贯穿到国家安全工作各方面全过程，推动各级党委（党组）把国家安全责任制落到实处。
1. Upholding the Party's absolute leadership over national security work, adhere to the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee on national security work…and promote the Party committees (Party groups) at all levels to put the national security responsibility system into practice.
NOTES: The leadership of NatSec work does not rest with any single Party/govt organ, but with the Party Central Committee. Lower levels of Party committees also bear responsibilities, supposedly in their respective jurisdictions.
二是坚持中国特色国家安全道路，贯彻总体国家安全观，坚持政治安全、人民安全、国家利益至上有机统一，以人民安全为宗旨，以政治安全为根本，以经济安全为基础，捍卫国家主权和领土完整，防范化解重大安全风险，为实现中华民族伟大复兴提供坚强安全保障。
2. Adhere to the road of national security with Chinese characteristics, the implementation of the holistic approach to national security, adhere to the organic unity of political security, people's security, and the supremacy of national interests. With People's security as the purpose, political security as the fundamental, economic security as the basis, defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity, prevent and resolve major security risks, to provide strong security guarantees to achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
Notes: Your Pekingnologist fails to explain this paragraph, except adding the above-quoted Yuan’s writing proposed “economic security as the basis”.
三是坚持以人民安全为宗旨，国家安全一切为了人民、一切依靠人民，充分发挥广大人民群众积极性、主动性、创造性，切实维护广大人民群众安全权益，始终把人民作为国家安全的基础性力量，汇聚起维护国家安全的强大力量。
3. Adhere to the people's security for the purpose of national security all for the people, all rely on the people, give full play to the people's initiative, initiative, creativity, and effectively safeguard the rights and interests of the people's security, always take the people as the foundational force of national security, converging on the powerful force to maintain national security.
NOTES: Your Pekingnologist utterly fails to explain this paragraph.
四是坚持统筹发展和安全，坚持发展和安全并重，实现高质量发展和高水平安全的良性互动，既通过发展提升国家安全实力，又深入推进国家安全思路、体制、手段创新，营造有利于经济社会发展的安全环境，在发展中更多考虑安全因素，努力实现发展和安全的动态平衡，全面提高国家安全工作能力和水平。
4. Adhere to the coordination of development and security, adhere to the parallel importance of development and security…through development to enhance the strength of national security and create a security environment conducive to economic and social development. Give more consideration to security factors in development…
NOTES: NatSec is effectively raised to the equal of development, suggesting Beijing now significantly raises, within its order of business, the profile of NatSec - some risks can not be overlooked or overridden in the name of development. The gist is also in Yuan’s writing quoted above.
五是坚持把政治安全放在首要位置，维护政权安全和制度安全，更加积极主动做好各方面工作。
5. Insist on putting political security in the first place, safeguarding the security of the regime and (political) system, and working more proactively in all areas.
NOTES: It speaks for itself.
六是坚持统筹推进各领域安全，统筹应对传统安全和非传统安全，发挥国家安全工作协调机制作用，用好国家安全政策工具箱。
6. Insist on promoting security in all fields in an integrated manner, dealing with traditional and non-traditional security in an integrated manner, making use of the coordination mechanism for national security work, and making good use of the national security policy toolbox.
NOTES: Not totally sure of the coordination mechanism, but could mean the CPC Central Committee National Security Commission, the first meeting of which took place in April 2014. The phrase national security policy toolbox is also noteworthy because, to the best of your Pekingnologist’s abilities, it was unheard of previously.
七是坚持把防范化解国家安全风险摆在突出位置，提高风险预见、预判能力，力争把可能带来重大风险的隐患发现和处置于萌芽状态。
7. Adhere to putting the prevention and resolution of national security risks in a prominent position, improve the ability to foresee and predict risks, and strive to identify and resolve hidden dangers that may bring significant risks in the bud.
NOTES: Not sure if the ability to foresee and predict risks should be referenced with COVID-19, but it’s a fact that the international community including the U.S., with the best intelligence capabilities, failed to see the pandemic coming. But Yuan did mention biosecurity (see above).
Identify and resolve hidden dangers and put them out in their beginning stage probably requires China to act more proactively - intervene at an even earlier stage before “dangerous” events (and people?) grew “big”.
八是坚持推进国际共同安全，高举合作、创新、法治、共赢的旗帜，推动树立共同、综合、合作、可持续的全球安全观，加强国际安全合作，完善全球安全治理体系，共同构建普遍安全的人类命运共同体。
8. Insist on promoting common international security. Hold high the banner of cooperation, innovation, rule of law, win-win, promote the establishment of a common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable global security concept, strengthen international security cooperation, improve the global security governance system, and jointly build a universal security community of human destiny.
NOTES: Not sure but a lot of things come to mind: Shanghai Cooperation Organization? Chinese navy’s patrol of the Gulf of Eden? Interpol? Identification of terrorist organizations? UN Security Council?
九是坚持推进国家安全体系和能力现代化，坚持以改革创新为动力，加强法治思维，构建系统完备、科学规范、运行有效的国家安全制度体系，提高运用科学技术维护国家安全的能力，不断增强塑造国家安全态势的能力。
9. Insist on promoting the modernization of national security system and capabilities…strengthen the rule of law, build a systematic and complete, scientific and standardized, effective national security system, improve the ability to use science and technology to maintain national security…
NOTES: It could mean that the NatSec should not be fragmented, that there are rules and mechanisms which increase its comprehensiveness and interoperability - different agencies operate and cooperate more efficiently. It definitely calls for more tech in NatSec, perhaps in operational reconnaissance, information gathering and processing, cybersecurity, etc.
十是坚持加强国家安全干部队伍建设，加强国家安全战线党的建设，坚持以政治建设为统领，打造坚不可摧的国家安全干部队伍。
10. Adhere to strengthen the teambuilding of national security cadres, strengthen Party-building on the national security front…create an indestructible team of national security cadres.
NOTES: It speaks for itself.
Thanks for finishing this lengthy newsletter and hope you find it worth your time. Welcome to subscribe to Pekingnology and follow Zichen Wang, the founder, on Twitter.
Also, glad to report and in the spirit of disclosure: the last newsletter focusing on a Politburo meeting was quoted in SupChina’s distinguished newsletter by Jeremy Goldkorn and retweeted by @XHnews on Twitter.
Lastly, today (Sunday, Nov. 13 is China’s national memorial day for the Nanjing Massacre victims in World War II.