Chairman of the National Security Commission of the Communist Party of China
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The Central National Security Commission (CNSC; ) of the
Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...
of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was established at the 3rd Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee in November 2013, during what was considered a "major regrouping of the top CCP power structure." The CNSC aims to consolidate political leadership of all components of the security apparatus controlled by the Communist Party, including those headed formerly by former Politburo Standing Committee (PSC) member Zhou Yongkang. These components would be combined into a single entity under the direct command of the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party. According to the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...
(MFA) spokesman
Qin Gang Qin Gang (; born 19 March 1966) is a Chinese diplomat and politician who has been serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2022, making him China's second highest ranked diplomat after CCP Politburo member Wang Yi. He previously served as Vi ...
, the NSC aims to combat terrorism, separatism, and religious extremism. It will also deal with national security strategy, crisis management, and links with foreign national security agencies. Analysts regarded the establishment of the NSC one of the most "concrete" and "eye-catching" outcomes of the Plenary Session, the culmination of a more than decade-long internal debate on whether China should have a national security council. '' The New York Times'' described it as "one of the most secretive bodies of a secretive state", whose "size, staffing and powers remain unclear". It has "established local security committees across provinces, cities and counties" to "focus on domestic threats" such as "protests and dissent".


Origins

The initial conception of the CNSC came during the Jiang Zemin era in 1997, with a proposal by
Wang Daohan Wang Daohan (), (27 March 1915 – 24 December 2005) was a Chinese politician who was president of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) from 1991 to 2005. Biography Wang was born in Jiashan County (present day Minggua ...
, later the president of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits. Jiang had taken interest in the United States National Security Council during his state visit to the United States that year. Out of concern that the establishment of such a body would give too much power to the leader, who would be head of both the commission and the Central Military Commission, it was never implemented. The proposal was again reconsidered in 1999 after the United States bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade due to concern over how long it took various state security agencies to gather information on the incident and make it known to Chinese leadership. Xi Jinping later revived the idea as part of his reforms in the foreign policy and security sectors, as part of an attempt to overcome problems that have accumulated for many years. The CNSC would thus fulfill Xi Jinping's ambitions for "Big power diplomacy with Chinese characteristics," rather than the quieter foreign policy agendas of previous administrations. Having a National Security Council assists in China's own "self-identification as a big power in world affairs." This also requires a more advanced diplomatic capability, a task in which the CNSC is supposed to assist in.


Purpose

The most common explanation for the creation of the CNSC relate to the personal and leadership style of Xi Jinping, and, in the eyes of commentators, his ambition to seize power. These personal factors, however, coincide with China wielding a much greater level of national power. Xi wishes China to play a greater role in world affairs, and so a mechanism like the CNSC would allow it to plan and implement, from the center, "grand strategy" ideas and "big power diplomacy." Xi Jinping articulated a concept of "big security" in the first meeting of the CNSC on April 15, 2014, saying that China "should take an overall approach to national security, strengthen the confidence of the Chinese people in the path, theories and system of socialism with distinctive Chinese features, and ensure China’s durable peace and stability." These definitions contain meanings of both domestic security and foreign threats.


Membership

; Chairman * Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CCP, President of the People's Republic, Chairman of the Central Military Commission ; Vice Chairmen *
Li Keqiang Li Keqiang (born 1 July 1955) is a Chinese politician who is the outgoing premier of China. An economist by profession, Li is head of China's executive branch as well as one of the leading figures behind China's Financial and Economic Affai ...
, Premier of the State Council, Politburo Standing Committee * Li Zhanshu, Chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, Politburo Standing Committee ; Members ;
General Office A General Office (also known as "administrative office") is an important administrative political organ in the communist party organizations and communist countries (such as China, Laos and Vietnam for instance). Generally speaking, the General Offi ...
Chief * Ding Xuexiang


References

{{China national security Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...