Advertisement
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
2-MIN READ2-MIN
3
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.
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.
Select Voice
Select Speed
1x
AI-generated voice