Three years after Xi rose to become party leader in 2012, Wang became Beijing’s chief of police and was quickly promoted to China’s deputy minister of public security.

Xie Maosong, a senior fellow of the Taihe Institute and a senior researcher at the National Institute of Strategic Studies at Tsinghua University, said the team would play the key role in improving the party’s control over security and coordinating among various security agencies as China faced more external threats and internal pressures.

“Externally, the United States has in fact waged a ‘total war’ on China without declaring it. It has already taken action on China economically, financially, ideologically and technologically, while casting a wider net of long-arm jurisdiction in China’s interests overseas,” Xie said.

“China has to respond to all of these.”

Xie said Wang would be instrumental in China’s response to external and internal risks because he was the “most trusted security official” and was ready to protect Xi, while Chen Yixin would be a key assistant for Wang.

“Wang Xiaohong will be a bit like the role of Yang Shangkun during the war between the Communist Party and the Kuomingtang before 1949,” Xie said.

“Yang served as commander of the Central Guard Unit and director of the General Office of the Central Committee, looking after the top party leader’s security while assisting their daily work at the same time.”

Xie said the division between the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of State Security as separate ministries might not suit China’s future security needs.

“Just like in boxing, if you have a bigger opponent throwing heavy combos at you, you cannot afford to have your left and right hands not talking to each other,” he said.

“Your eyes have to look out for warning signs of risks and identify their repercussions for China as early as possible and order your hands, legs and body to defend the attack as quickly as possible.

“Only then can you stand in the ring with all the pain and still pack a few punches back.”

Chen Daoyin, a political commentator and former professor at Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, agreed that the reform of security and other related systems seemed to resemble the Mao era, because Xi regarded the current situation as a “warlike scenario”.

“Looking at the State Council’s reform packages and the talk about party reform, Xi seems likely to push China’s overall administration system towards the Mao era, in which the party managed security, finance, science and other matters, while the State Council focused on the economy and social development,” Chen said.

“It is not surprising at all. Mao’s system was forged from the war and Xi, who studied Mao’s tactics and philosophy from a young age, naturally picked it up as it proved to be very effective for the party before.”

Also on Sunday, Ding Xuexiang was confirmed as executive vice-premier, to be joined by former top economic planner He Lifeng, former Liaoning party chief Zhang Guoqing and former Shaanxi party chief Liu Guozhong as vice-premiers.

Former Jiangsu party boss Wu Zhenglong will become secretary general of the cabinet, known as the State Council, while former Guizhou party boss Shen Yiqin and new Foreign Minister Qin Gang have been confirmed as state councillors.

Other notable appointments include former Anhui party chief Zheng Shanjie as head of the National Development and Reform Commission and Jin Zhuanglong as minister of industry and information technology.

Yi Gang, Wang Zhigang, Huai Jinpeng extended their terms as central bank governor, science minister and education minister respectively.

Li Xiaopeng, son of former Chinese premier Li Peng, was also reappointed as transport minister, even though he is no longer a member of the party’s Central Committee, previously thought to be essential for a ministerial position.