Socialism with Chinese Characteristics Enters a New Era

2. Deeply grasp the overall concept of national security

On April 15, 2014, at the first plenary meeting of the Central National Security Commission, Comrade Xi Jinping put forward for the first time the major strategic thinking of the overall national security concept, emphasizing that the overall national security concept should be adhered to and the road of national security with Chinese characteristics should be followed. “Adhering to the overall concept of national security” was also written into the report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China as the basic strategy for adhering to and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, and was written into the revised Constitution of the Communist Party of China. This is the first time in the history of the Communist Party of China that the theory of national security has been included in the report of the party congress, and it is also the first time that the theory of national security has been taken as an important part of the party’s guiding ideology. Adhering to the overall national security concept is not only an important part of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, but also a practical requirement for implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.

The philosophical implications of the overall view of national security. The overall is a concept, emphasizing the comprehensive and systematic nature of national security.

The overall emphasis is on “general security”, which includes traditional security such as political, territorial and military, as well as non-traditional security such as economy, culture, society, network and ecology; includes both the current security field and new fields such as space, deep sea, polar and biological fields; and includes both physical and human security. In addition, the overall emphasis is on comprehensiveness rather than comprehensiveness, and security issues must not be generalized, and security boundaries must be grasped well. It is not feasible to talk about security without basic national conditions, security without the international environment, and security without development.

The overall is a state that emphasizes the relativity and sustainability of national security. Safety is relative, risk factors are always present, there is no absolute security. Overall security emphasizes maintaining a state of relative freedom from danger and internal and external threats. It is necessary to base ourselves on the present and the long term; we must base ourselves on the dynamic perception and dynamic assessment of the situation, and on the foresight of the medium- and long- term development trend; we must have a goal-oriented general idea, general framework, and general layout, and be good at adjusting the strategy and tactics of national security in a timely manner according to the new situation, new problems, and new tasks. The overall is a methodology, emphasizing the scientific integration of national security. The overall goal is to build a national security system that integrates security in various fields and properly respond to various complex security challenges. In seeking overall national security, it is necessary to advance as a whole while highlighting key points; stress both principles and strategies; stress both needs and capabilities; and stress both safeguarding and reshaping. In particular, we must always grasp national security in the overall situation of the party and the country, fully mobilize the enthusiasm of all parties in all fields, perform their respective duties and work together, so as to unite a strong joint force.

The connotation and extension of the overall national security concept. The summary of the connotation and extension of national security in the overall national security concept can be summarized into five major elements and five pairs of relationships. The five major elements are to take people’s security as the purpose, political security as the foundation, economic security as the foundation, military, cultural and social security as the guarantee, and international security as the basis. Taking people’s security as the purpose is to always put people’s security in the highest position, adhere to the people-oriented and people-oriented, adhere to national security for the people and rely on the people, and consolidate the mass foundation of national security. Taking political security as the foundation means unswervingly adhering to the party’s leadership and the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, putting institutional security and regime security in the first place, and providing political guarantees for national security. Basing on economic security is to ensure that the country’s economic development is not encroached upon, promote sustained, healthy and stable economic development, improve the country’s economic strength, and provide a material basis for national security.

Taking military, cultural and social security as the guarantee means paying attention to the new situations and problems facing these fields, following the security laws in different fields, establishing countermeasures to consolidate the foundation and turn dangers into disasters, and providing hard and soft power guarantees for safeguarding national security. Relying on promoting international security means unswervingly following the path of peaceful development, paying attention to safeguarding national interests, while paying attention to safeguarding common security and building a community with a shared future. These five aspects jointly support the overall structure of the national security system and determine the basic orientation of the national security path with Chinese characteristics.

The five-pair relationship is to attach importance to both external and internal security, emphasizing the interconnection and mutual influence of external security and internal security; attaching importance to both homeland security and national security, and emphasizing the organic unity of homeland security and national security; attaching importance to both traditional and non-traditional security, emphasizing that traditional security threats and non-traditional security threats affect each other and may be transformed into each other under certain conditions; and attaching importance to development issues. It also attaches importance to security issues, emphasizing that development and security are two sides of the same coin, that development is the foundation of security, and that security is the condition for development, so that a rich country can strengthen its troops and defend its country; it attaches importance to both its own security and common security, and stresses that the security of China and the world in the context of globalization are inseparable. In short, national security is an inseparable security system, each element has its own focus, and each element is interrelated and affects each other. The five major elements and the five pairs of relationships accurately reflect the internal logic of China’s national security, accurately reflect the dialectical, comprehensive and systematic concept of national security, and profoundly reveal the principle requirements and rich connotations of the overall national security concept. The overall concept of national security is the concentrated application and latest embodiment of Marxist positions and views and methods in the field of national security, which is both epistemological and methodological, embodies a high degree of unity between people’s security, political security, and the supremacy of national interests, embodies a high degree of unity in historical thinking, world vision and the spirit of the times, and embodies a high degree of unity in theory, practice, and system.

3. Safeguard and shape national security with Chinese characteristics National security with Chinese characteristics should be both safeguarded and shaped, and shaping is a higher-level and more forward-looking safeguard.

It is necessary to strengthen follow-up, study, and judgment of the national security situation, strive to grasp the law in the changing situation, seek advantages and avoid disadvantages in chaos, and strive for the initiative in struggle. It is necessary to strengthen strategic planning, persist in planning the layout with global thinking, and shape an overall favorable national security strategic situation. Uphold the party’s absolute leadership over national security work. This is the fundamental principle for doing a good job in national security work and the fundamental guarantee for safeguarding national security and social stability. “Absolute” means unconditional and without dead ends, that is, at any time and under any circumstances, take the party’s banner as the banner, the party’s direction as the direction, and the party’s will as the will, strengthen the “four consciousness”, strengthen the “four self-confidence”, and achieve “two safeguards.” Adhere to the party’s overall control of the overall situation, coordinate all parties, resolutely safeguard the centralized, unified, efficient and authoritative national security leadership system, and fully implement the major strategic deployment of national security. Give full play to the role of the Central National Security Commission in coordinating national security affairs, do a good job in implementing national security principles and policies, improve the national security work mechanism, and focus on improving the party’s strategic ability to grasp the star situation and plan for development. Conscientiously implementing the national security responsibility system is an important institutional guarantee for strengthening the party’s leadership over national security work. Party committees (leading party groups) at all levels are the main body responsible for safeguarding national security, and should follow the decisions and arrangements of the Central National Security Commission, properly manage national security affairs in their respective regions and departments, lawfully exercise the functions and powers entrusted by national security laws and regulations, and ensure that they have a responsibility to defend the land and fulfill their responsibilities. Complete and improve the national security system. It is necessary to improve national security strategies and policies, improve national security systems and mechanisms, strengthen the organization and coordination of national security work, and establish and improve cross- departmental and cross-regional joint work mechanisms. Improve the national security system, raise the level of national security rule of law, and make full use of legal means to preserve national security. On the basis of implementing the National Security Law and promulgating and implementing national security laws and regulations such as the Counter-espionage Law, the Counter-Terrorism Law, the Foreign NGO Domestic Activities Management Law, the Cybersecurity Law, and the Nuclear Security Law, accelerate the formation of a set of national security legal systems with Chinese characteristics that are based on the basic national conditions, reflect the characteristics of the times, adapt to the strategic security environment, have coordinated content, strict procedures, complete supporting facilities, and effective operation. Safeguard national security in key areas. The key areas are the main position and the main battlefield for safeguarding national security. It is necessary to give prominence to security work in various aspects, such as political security, economic security, homeland security, social security, network security, biological security, and the security of overseas interests.

Persist in ensuring political security as the first priority, firmly hold the soul of political security, tighten the string of political security at all times, and promote national security work in key areas with political security as the guide; persist in administering the party strictly in an all-round way, firmly grasp the leadership, management and discourse power of ideological work, strictly guard against and resist “color revolutions”, and ensure the safety of the party’s governance; adhere to the basic economic system of socialism with Chinese characteristics without wavering, fight the battle of preventing and defusing financial risks, and resolutely guard the bottom line of not occurring systemic financial risks. Consolidate the foundation of economic security; strengthen the construction of border, coastal and air defense, crack down in depth on the “three forces”, resolutely guard against “Xinjiang independence” and “Tibet independence”, resolutely thwart any form of separatist attempts for “Taiwan independence”, safeguard the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong and Macao, and build a solid wall of homeland security; improve the three-dimensional social security prevention and control system, severely crack down on violent terrorist forces, properly respond to major natural disasters and emergencies, and vigorously promote the construction of a safe China; earnestly safeguard the sovereignty and security of cyberspace, and strengthen cyberspace governance in accordance with the law. Continuously enhance cybersecurity defense and deterrence capabilities; incorporate biosecurity into the national security system, systematically plan the establishment of a national biosecurity risk prevention and control and governance system, and comprehensively improve national biosecurity governance capabilities; adhere to peaceful development, take the path of common security, form a strong security guarantee system for overseas interests, and truly safeguard the security of overseas interests. Strive to prevent and resolve major risks. Adhere to the basic judgment that China’s development is still in a period of important strategic opportunities and will be for a long time, enhance the awareness of risk prevention and control, adhere to bottom-line thinking, keep pace with the times to understand and grasp various actual and potential major risks, guard the bottom line of no systemic and subversive risks, and look at the worst and strive for the best results. It is necessary to be highly vigilant against both “black swan” events and “gray rhino” incidents; it is necessary to have the first hand in preventing risks and also have high tactics to deal with and defuse risks and challenges; and it is necessary to fight a prepared battle to prevent and resist risks, and also to fight a strategic initiative battle to turn dangers into opportunities and turn crises into opportunities. Improve risk prevention and control capabilities, improve risk prevention and control mechanisms, grasp key points, make up for shortcomings, strengths and weaknesses, strictly prevent superimposed and upgraded risk transmission, and be good at solving complex problems, handling complex contradictions, and controlling complex situations. Comprehensively implement the party’s mass line, strengthen national security education, enhance the national security awareness of the whole party and the people of all ethnic groups throughout the country, and promote the formation of a strong joint force in the whole society to safeguard national security.