Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged his top national security officials to consider “worst-case” scenarios and prepare for “stormy seas,” as the governing Communist Party intensifies efforts to tackle perceived internal and external threats, CNN reported.
At a meeting of the party’s National Security Commission, Xi said, “The complexity and difficulty of the national security issues we now face have increased significantly,” as per the state news agency Xinhua. The new stern instructions from Xi come as the country faces a slew of challenges, ranging from a faltering economy to an increasingly hostile foreign environment.
Faced with a “complex and grave” scenario, Xi stated that China must accelerate the upgrading of its national security system and capabilities, with an emphasis on making them more effective in “actual combat and practical use”. He also urged China to accelerate the development of a national security risk monitoring and early warning system, increase national security education, and strengthen data and artificial intelligence security management.
Ever since Xi came to power a decade ago, he made national security a key paradigm that permeates all aspects of China’s governance, CNN reported quoting experts.He has expanded the definition of national security to cover everything from politics to economics, defence, culture, and ecology, as well as cyberspace.
