Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called for accelerated efforts to modernize the country's national security system and capacity.
Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks as he chaired the first meeting of the National Security Commission under the 20th CPC Central Committee. Xi is head of the commission.
Xi called for staying keenly aware of the complicated and challenging circumstances facing national security and correctly grasping major national security issues.
He urged efforts to safeguard China's new pattern of development with a new security architecture and break new ground on national security work.
Li Qiang, Zhao Leji and Cai Qi, who are all members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and deputy heads of the National Security Commission, attended the meeting.
Summarizing the work of the commission, the meeting said it has resolutely protected national sovereignty, security, and development interests. National security has been comprehensively strengthened, according to the meeting.
The national security issues China faces today are "considerably more complex and much more difficult to be resolved," said the meeting. It stressed the necessity of being prepared to deal with worst-case and extreme-case scenarios and being ready to withstand "high winds, choppy waters, and even dangerous storms."
The meeting called for taking the initiative to shape a favorable external security environment for China to better safeguard its opening up and push for a deep integration of development and security.
The meeting also called for reforming the approaches employed in safeguarding and shaping national security.
It urged dedicated efforts to safeguard political security and improve the security governance of internet data and artificial intelligence. Furthermore, it called for expedited endeavors to establish a risk monitoring and early warning system.
The meeting adopted a document on speeding up building a national security risk monitoring and early warning system and another one on strengthening public communication regarding national security.