Guarantee for development

A State security committee will help promote the reform and innovation of nation's security systems and mechanisms

The Third Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China Central Committee, which took place from Nov 9 to 12, approved the Decisions on Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Deepening Reforms, sketching out the overall reform drive for the next decade. The decision to establish a State security committee, in particular, drew much attention both at home and abroad and there were a variety of interpretations, some of which read too much into it and some of which were based on the roles of foreign organizations bearing the same name. Therefore, it is necessary to set the record straight with a more balanced interpretation.

LAN HONGGUANG / XINHUA

Looking through the full text of the decisions document, which was released on Nov 15, we can see that the decision to establish a State security committee appears in the part referring to innovating the social management system with the goal of effectively solving and preventing social contradictions.

As pointed out in the decisions document, innovation of social governance must proceed with a view to maintaining the fundamental interests of the people, maximizing factors conducive to social harmony, enhancing the vitality of social development, improving the level of social governance and safeguarding national security to ensure people can live and work in peace and harmony. To effectively prevent and end social disputes and improve public security there must be improved social governance and the innovation of governance systems. In this context, the decision was made to set up a State security committee and improve national security systems and strategies to ensure national security.

"State security and social stability are preconditions for reform and development," Xi Jinping, general secretary of CPC Central Committee, said in an explanation published on Nov 15. He said that only when the nation is safe and society stable can reform and development be advanced. Xi also said it is an urgent need to establish the committee to strengthen the unified leadership of State security work.

Thus, the establishment of a State security committee will be endowed with Chinese characteristics, and it will be a planning and coordinating body with specific purposes and functions, rather than an all-encompassing one.