China's President, Xi Jinping, has called on the country's top national security officials to be prepared for the worst-case scenarios and "stormy seas" as the Communist Party ramps up efforts to counter any perceived internal and external threats. Speaking at a meeting of the party's National Security Commission, Xi stated that the complexity and difficulty of the national security issues faced by China have increased significantly, and the country must "adhere to bottom-line thinking and worst-case-scenario thinking" to be ready for the major tests of high winds, rough waves, and perilous stormy seas.
China is facing numerous challenges, from a struggling economy to what it perceives as an increasingly hostile international environment. Therefore, Xi wants the country to speed up the modernization of its national security system and capabilities, with a focus on making them more effective in actual combat and practical use. He also emphasized the need to construct a national security risk monitoring and early warning system, enhance national security education, and improve the management of data and artificial intelligence security.
Experts say that Xi has made national security the key paradigm that permeates all aspects of China's governance since coming to power a decade ago. He has expanded the concept of national security to cover everything from politics, economy, defense, culture, ecology, cyberspace -- to the deep sea and the polar regions, space, and big data and artificial intelligence. Under Xi's notion of "comprehensive national security," China has introduced a raft of legislation to protect itself against perceived threats. These laws include counter-terrorism, counter-espionage, cybersecurity, foreign non-government organizations, national intelligence, and data security.
Recently, China broadened the scope of its already sweeping counter-espionage law, covering any documents, data, materials, or items related to national security and interests. Beijing also imposed a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong to stamp out dissent after huge democracy protests rocked the city. The perception that security has replaced economic growth as Beijing's top priority has been compounded by recent raids on foreign companies, including American consultancy Bain & Company and due diligence firm Mintz Group. These raids have caused concerns among international businesses that are already skeptical of investing in China.
In summary, Xi Jinping's recent call for preparing for worst-case scenarios highlights China's focus on national security and protecting itself against perceived internal and external threats. This focus on security has expanded to cover all aspects of China's governance, which has led to the introduction of several legislation aimed at safeguarding the country's interests.