Security committee to act as ‘nerve center’
The State Security Committee will serve as the “nerve center” when China handles national security issues, media and experts said.
A commentary carried by the overseas edition of the People’s Daily said on Wednesday that “having a State security committee has become a must for big countries around the world”.
China will set up such a committee, according to a communique issued after the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Communist Party of China Central Committee that ended on Tuesday.
The United States set up its National Security Council in 1947, while many other countries, such as Russia, France and Israel, have similar institutions.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is pushing hard for a similar body, and legislation is expected to pass the upper house soon.
The article said that the competition of comprehensive national power nowadays is not restricted to hard power but also “major countries’ capabilities of policymaking, coordination and implementation on diplomatic and security affairs”.
It said the committee will stress “initiative, timeliness and coordination” in handling the nation’s major security affairs.
The body will become the “nerve center” of policymaking and coordination on national security issues, it said.
“China is growing from a regional power to a global power, and it is due time for it to set up its national security concept and a corresponding mechanism,” said Ruan Zongze, vice-president of the China Institute of International Studies.
The security committee will take the nation’s interests in many areas into account, he said.
“It will stand at a higher point and have a more comprehensive sight.”
The communique gave no details about the State security committee.
Qu Xing, president of the China Institute of International Studies, guessed that it might be a permanent mechanism with fixed departments that collect and analyze information and do cooperative work.
Luo Yuan, a retired major general and military expert, said it has been quite a long time since people started talking about establishing such a security body.
Luo said that he and some national lawmakers and political advisers have delivered such proposals. “Now the time is ripe to set up such a body.”
Luo said in his proposal that the committee, led by major Chinese leaders, should cover “the comprehensive security system” that includes areas such as the military, domestic security, diplomacy, economy and finance.
Su Changhe, vice-dean of the School of International Relations and Public Affairs at Fudan University, said that the security committee could also cover various other targets such as raising the country’s capability to tackle financial risks.
He said the committee can serve as a unified platform for China’s various security dialogues with other nations.
Shada Islam from Friends of Europe, a Brussels-based think tank, said, “I think it’s not a surprise that China wants to create one, especially in a complex international environment.
“Most countries, including Japan, are thinking of building a national security system. It’s the global trend.”
Nickolas Lardy, Anthony M. Solomon Senior Fellow at Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, said that he thought the security committee might be similar to the US National Security Council.
China needs such “a top-level coordinating body to pull together information from various parts of the leadership and bring a unified and coordinated view to the very top leadership”, Lardy said.
Jonathan Holslag, a professor of international politics at Vrije Universiteit Brussel and a fellow at the Brussels Institute of Contemporary China Studies, said the committee “could also help in developing the strategic guidance that is needed to play an active and predictable role in international affairs”.