China’s police pledge to build ‘new quality combat capacity’ with tech aimed at preventing risks

The buzz phrase, first coined by Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong, refers to the modernisation of policing through hi-tech and innovation
Cities and provinces answer Wang’s call with measures that deploy big data to improve efficiency and predict threats

China’s Communist Party

Hayley Wongin Beijing

Published: 9:47am, 14 Mar 2024

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Police departments across China have pledged to create and strengthen “new quality combat capacity” with technology aimed at “preventive policing” and efficiency.

During the country’s annual legislative session last week, Chinese Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong reminded delegates from the northern province of Hebei to speed up efforts to achieve “new quality combat capacity”.

While Chinese officials have used the phrase “combat capacity” in the context of public security before, Wang was the first to use the phrase “new quality combat capacity” during a nationwide meeting with the country’s provincial police chiefs in January when he renewed demands for the “modernisation” of local policing.

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It was decided at the January meeting that local forces would roll out more measures to use big data to support frontline capabilities.

Since then, provincial and city security forces have pledged to increase the use of big data and improve their ability to predict and prevent risks.

These risks include phone scams, offshore gambling, political rumours, “harmful” online information and “disruptive and subversive activities by domestic and foreign hostile forces”, according to the public security ministry.

During last week’s annual parliamentary meetings, known as the “two sessions”, Wang’s deputy Qi Yanjun, who is also police chief of Beijing municipality, made rare remarks on public gatherings.

“Beijing should … prepare sufficiently to respond to all kinds of risks and challenges, and uphold the security bottom line of not having large-scale public gatherings,” Qi told the delegation from the capital city.

In an article in the Legal Daily on Monday, Jiangxi’s police chief Yuan Qinhua pledged to prioritise identifying and preventing political risks, especially online and at universities.

The eastern province will also double down on risk management for large events and management of mental health services, said Yuan, who is also Jiangxi’s deputy governor.

The province will regularly investigate risk factors as the forces develop a “risk prevention system”, he said.

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Song Jiayi, police chief of Pingshan county in Hebei’s provincial capital of Shijiazhuang, said last Thursday that the integration of data signalled a systemic change from passive to “active, preventive, smart, and integrated” policing.

Chinese provinces and cities have called for efforts to integrate data into a centralised system to help police make more efficient and targeted decisions.

As part of a pilot project, police in Lanzhou, capital of Gansu province, monitored 494 cameras placed around a residential compound in a central “command room”. They pledged on Saturday to promote the model throughout the city.

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China has one of the world’s most sophisticated digital surveillance systems for social media and the internet. It requires real-name mobile number registration and has widespread camera networks on the streets.

As the country turns to hi-tech innovation in its pursuit of “new quality productive forces”, it is also eyeing technological breakthroughs to achieve “new quality combat capacity” in public security.

Last year, the central government began a three-year push to set up specialised innovation centres, with key technology projects to counter telecoms fraud and drugs and to assist with inspections, wireless communication and government coordination.

Some localities, including Shanghai and Zhejiang province, began developing digital portals for police work before a national plan rolled out last year.

Chinese security forces have also been expanding their influence abroad by stepping up security cooperation with African and Pacific Island countries to provide training and equipment.