Domestic security threats, not diplomacy, to be priority of China's national security body

Diplomacy will not be an overriding concern for the National Security Commission as the newly established body will focus more on internal and unconventional security threats, analysts and government think tanks say.

The commission, which will be headed by President and Communist Party chief Xi Jinping, was announced after a policy meeting of top party leaders in November. It will devise and co-ordinate strategy on national security matters, which were previously hindered because responsibilities were scattered among different agencies.

The forthcoming annual session of the National People's Congress, the national legislature, is expected to establish the security commission on the state level. The NPC will kick off on March 5; it usually lasts more than a week.

The new agency, which includes as its deputy chiefs Premier Li Keqiang and NPC Chairman Zhang Dejiang, comprises representatives from the intelligence, military, foreign affairs, police and financial communities.

Li Wei, a security expert at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said the body was set up to prevent any single agency from wielding excessive influence in the strategy-planning process.

"Diplomacy will merely be a part of it," Li said.

Security and diplomacy experts say the weight carried by different agencies in the commission may vary from time to time, depending on the situations it faces. For example, the foreign ministry may find itself more involved in evacuation of Chinese citizens abroad.