China’s anti-espionage chief urges stronger crackdown using legal tools

Minister of State Security Chen Yixin calls on senior officials to study new anti-spy law and intensify enforcement

Beijing increasingly prioritises national security over economic development as it faces pressure from US and allies, observer says

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Chen Yixin, a confidant of President Xi Jinping, was appointed as China’s minister of state security in October. Photo: Weibo

Published: 5:11pm, 5 Jun 2023Updated: 4:29pm, 14 Aug 2023

China’s anti-espionage chief Chen Yixin has called on senior officials to study the country’s new anti-espionage law and intensify its “legal crackdown” related to state security.

Chen, a confidant of President Xi Jinping appointed as minister of state security in October, made the remarks in a front-page commentary published on Monday in the Study Times, an official newspaper of the Central Party School.

“[We] must take the lead in the study of the law with focus on the newly amended Anti-espionage Law of the People’s Republic of China, and systematically grasp national security laws and regulations,” Chen said in the commentary.

“[We] must use the law for struggles, ramp up the intensity of the crackdown in law enforcement and in judicial means, and enhance our capacity to shape state security using legal tools.”

Chen added the state security apparatus must roll out anti-espionage efforts according to Chinese law and “severely crack down” on efforts to steal China’s state secrets.

China is sharpening its legal tools to fend off what Beijing says are intensifying efforts by Washington and its allies to subvert and infiltrate its party state.

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