holistic security concept in 2014, which he defined as taking "the security of the people as compass, political security as its roots, economic security as its pillar, military security, cultural security, and cultural security as its protections, and that relies on the promotion of international security."[1]: 3 The holistic security concept also emphasizes the need for energy security.[2]: 77 Xi created China's National Security Commission (NSC), which focuses on holistic security and addresses both external and internal security matters.[3]
: 180
With regard to Chinese abroad, China's 2015 National Security Law states that China will take necessary measures to protect the security and interests "of Chinese citizens, organizations, and bodies abroad."[1]: 179
At the 2022 meeting of
UN Charter; (4) taking the security concerns of all countries seriously; (5) peacefully resolving disputes between countries through dialogue; and (6) maintaining security in both traditional and non-traditional fields.[1]: 158 The principles outlined by the Global Security Initiative are long-standing elements of China's security policy.[1]: 158 As of 2023, articulations of the Global Security Initiative have primarily focused on broad principles and included little operational detail.[1]
: 158
Armed forces overview
The collective
PLA Air Force.[6] The PLA's independent strategic missile forces are typically referred to as the PLA Rocket Force.[7]
In 2005, China announced that it had downsized its military by 200,000 troops in order to optimize force structures and increase combat capabilities.[10] The number of active-duty soldiers decreased to 2.3 million from as high as 3.2 million in 1987.[11] The changes included eliminating layers in the command hierarchy, reducing non-combat units, such as schools and farms, and reprogramming officer duties. The ground forces were reduced in numbers, while the navy, air force, and rocket forces were strengthened.[12] Reservists number an estimated 500,000 to 600,000 and paramilitary forces in the People's Armed Police number an estimated 1.5 million.[13]
The Central Military Commission of the People's Republic of China is differentiated from the Central Military Commission of the CCP. According to Article 93 of the state constitution, the Central Military Commission directs the armed forces of the country and is composed of a chairman, vice chairmen, and members whose terms run concurrently with the National People's Congress. The commission is responsible to the National People's Congress and its Standing Committee.
Germany, and Japan. However, the actual defense budget is likely to be higher than expected because of the inclusion of defense-related items in non-defense budgets.[citation needed
]
Major military units
anti-aircraft
artillery brigade or simply an antiaircraft artillery brigade.
The navy is organized into North Sea (headquartered at Qingdao, Shandong Province), East Sea (headquartered at Ningbo, Zhejiang Province) and South Sea (headquartered at Zhanjiang, Guangdong Province) fleets. Each fleet has destroyer, submarine, coastal patrol flotillas and naval air stations. There are numerous major naval bases: the North Sea Fleet has seven, the East Sea Fleet eight, and the South Sea Fleet sixteen.
The air force has 5 air corps and 32 air divisions. The major air force headquarters coincide with the seven military regions. The air force has more than 140 air bases and airfields, including ready access to China's major regional and international airports.
The strategic missile forces, or
Second Artillery Corps, are organized into seven missile divisions based in the military regions, with the central headquarters at Qinghe
, north of Beijing. There also are training and testing bases. The six operational bases have 21 launch brigades as of 2005.
mine warfare ships, 10 hovercraft, 6 troop transports, 19 landing-ship/tank ships, 37 medium landing ships, 45 utility landing craft, 10 air-cushioned landing craft, 163 support and miscellaneous craft, 8 submarine support ships, 4 salvage and repair ships, 29 supply ships, 1 multirole aviation ship, and about 700 land-based combat aircraft and 45 armed helicopters. China also has plans to launch a 40,000-ton aircraft carrier
by 2010.
The air force has some 1,900 combat aircraft, including armed helicopters. The inventory includes 180 bombers, more than 950 fighters and 838
electronic intelligence
aircraft, an estimated 513 transports, an estimated 170 helicopters, some 200 training aircraft, and an unmanned aerial vehicle. Weapons include air-to-air missiles and ground-based air defense artillery using surface-to-air missiles and antiaircraft artillery.
The strategic missile forces have in their inventory 20 or more intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), between 130 and 150 intermediate-range ballistic missiles, one Xia class submarine carrying 12 submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and about 335 or more short-range ballistic missiles.
People's Armed Police Force. There are militia forces of indeterminate strength under the control of the CCP. Once a critical part of Mao Zedong's "people's war" strategy, militia units are no longer an essential part of China's military and have mostly disbanded.[citation needed
]
Police and internal security
China's internal security apparatus is made up of the
border defense
personnel, guards for government buildings and embassies, and police communications specialists.
The Ministry of State Security was established in 1983 to ensure "the security of the state through effective measures against enemy agents, spies, and counterrevolutionary activities designed to sabotage or overthrow China's socialist system." The ministry is guided by a series of laws enacted in 1993, 1994, and 1997 that replaced the "counter-revolutionary” crime statutes. The ministry's operations include intelligence collection, both domestic and foreign.
China has developed an efficient, well-funded internal security apparatus which is tasked with stability maintenance, or "weiwen".[15] According to a study conducted by Tsinghua University, based on published police budgets, $77 billion, (514 billion yuan) was appropriated for internal security in 2009, a budget item which is rapidly increasing.[16]
Muslim separatists in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region present China with its most significant terrorist threat, which emerged in the late 1980s. In 2003, Beijing published "East Turkistan Terrorist List", which labeled organizations such as the World Youth Uyghur Congress and the East Turkestan Information Center as terrorist entities. These groups openly advocate for the independence and formation of East Turkestan. Although they have not been publicly linked to violent activity, the separatists have engaged in violence, bomb attacks, assassinations, and street fighting,[citation needed] which Beijing responded to with police and military action.
During the summer of 2004, elite troops from China and Pakistan held joint anti-terrorism exercises in Xinjiang that were aimed at the East Turkistan Islamic Movement, an organization listed as terrorist by China, the US, and the UN. This and other Uyghur separatist groups were trained in Afghanistan to fight with the
2019–20, the Central Government of China has had concerns about national security, and has highlighted foreign forces interfering in domestic affairs. The Chinese Government has pressured Hong Kong to enact national security laws many times. Since some Hong Kong legislators refuse to pass any bills related to China, it is unlikely that a national security law will be passed in the foreseeable future. To block the national security loophole in Hong Kong, in 2020, China's National People's Congress passed a National Security Law for Hong Kong which bypasses Hong Kong's local legislation.[17]
Macau
The
Macau Special Administrative Region is considered a part of China, so it has the responsibility to protect the national security of China. A Macau national security law was passed in 2009.[citation needed
^Social Development Research Group, Tsinghua University Department of Sociology (April 2010). "New thinking on stability maintenance" [long-term social stability via institutionalised expression of interests]. Tsinghua University. Archived from the original(translation) on July 23, 2011. Retrieved March 3, 2011. According to statistics, this year's budget for internal security has reached 514 billion yuan. The "Law Enforcement Situation in the 2009 Budget and This Year's Draft Budget Report" show that public safety expenditures increased by 16% last year and will be augmented by a further 8.9% this year.