China needs to ‘proactively defend’ against spies, state security minister says

Chen Yixin calls for big data, blockchain and AI to be used to tackle threats
His remarks come soon after expanded anti-espionage law came into force

US-China relations

Jack Lau

Published: 7:00pm, 12 Jul 2023

Why you can trust SCMP

China must “proactively defend” against spies to strengthen national security and the Communist Party’s leadership, its state security minister said, nearly two weeks after an expanded anti-espionage law took effect.

Chen Yixin wrote in a magazine article published on Tuesday that China needed to harness the power of big data, blockchain and artificial intelligence to tackle threats from spies. He said stricter national security measures were required because of the risks from a more unpredictable global environment.

President Xi Jinping has told officials to prepare for “worst-case and most extreme scenarios” as the Chinese and the United States governments struggle to manage their relationship. Both have moved to limit market access for some of the other nation’s companies – especially technology firms – over national security concerns.

02:28

Beijing raids offices of consulting firm Capvision in widening crackdown over national security

In April, China’s legislature voted to drastically overhaul its anti-spy law from 2014. The new counter-espionage law expands the definition of spying and investigative powers of the national security law enforcement agencies. It outlaws cyberattacks against government and secretive agencies, and obtaining documents, data and information “related to national security and interests” without permission.

“China’s development now stands at a new historical starting point,” Chen wrote in the Democracy and Legal System magazine run by the China Law Society, a government-controlled group that promotes the party’s ideology and concept of law.

“The external environment and security situation have changed significantly. All kinds of predictable and unpredictable risks and challenges, dangerous obstacles, and even ‘high winds and huge waves’ demand a higher standard for national security work.”

He said although counter-espionage operations must be proactive, they should be effective and not “blindly engage in a struggle against spying”. Chen also warned law enforcement not to abuse their powers and said evidence should be collected lawfully.

Politically sensitive cases in China, such as those about spying charges, lack transparency – trials are not publicly announced and they are held behind closed doors.

02:03

As Australian reporter marks 1,000 days in detention, China says Cheng Lei’s rights ‘protected’

China has detained a number of foreign nationals on suspicion of spying in recent years. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in March it was deeply concerning that there was still no verdict for detained journalist Cheng Lei, a year after her national security trial in China. In January, Wong also expressed concern over the delayed verdict for Australian writer Yang Hengjun, who has been detained in China since 2019 on spying charges.

Chinese authorities also detained a Japanese employee of the pharmaceutical firm Astellas Pharma in March in Beijing. The Canadian nationals Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig were taken into custody in 2018 after being accused of stealing Chinese state secrets. They were released after Canada freed Huawei Technologies executive Meng Wanzhou following her deal with Washington to drop a US extradition request.

At a “recent” party committee meeting of the state security ministry, Chen urged national security agencies to begin amending the “implementation rules” for the counter-espionage law to reflect and give details about how the new legislation can be used, according to a statement from the party’s Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission on Tuesday.

More specific regulations for individual cabinet departments should also be drafted, he said at the meeting.

Chen also said agencies should promote the law outside China in the media and online. This was echoed in his magazine article, which ended with a call to officials to “tell the story of national security work well” so that the international community can better understand China’s rule of law.

The US government has criticised the broadened anti-spy law for creating new risks for foreign companies, journalists and researchers, especially those performing due diligence checks.