XI. Modernizing China’s National Security System and Capacity and Safeguarding National Security and Social Stability
National security is the bedrock of national rejuvenation, and social stability is a prerequisite for building a strong and prosperous China. We must resolutely pursue a holistic approach to national security and promote national security in all areas and stages of the work of the Party and the country, so as to ensure national security and social stability.
We must take the people’s security as our ultimate goal, political security as our fundamental task, economic security as our foundation, military, technological, cultural, and social security as important pillars, and international security as a support. We will take coordinated steps to ensure external and internal security, homeland and public security, traditional and non-traditional security, and our own security and common security. We will both uphold national security and create the conditions for ensuring it. We will strengthen popular support for national security and social stability, improve the mechanisms for our participation in global security governance, and advance the Peaceful China Initiative to a higher level. With this new security architecture, we will be able to better safeguard China’s new pattern of development.
1. Improving the national security system
We must uphold the Central Committee’s centralized, unified leadership over national security work and make sure that our leadership system for national security is high-performing and authoritative. The mechanisms for coordinating national security work will be strengthened. Improvements will be made in the legal, strategy, and policy systems for national security as well as the risk monitoring and early warning systems and the national emergency management system.
We will also improve the systems that safeguard security in key sectors and the coordination and command systems for major projects. We will strengthen the safeguards for ensuring economic, major infrastructure, financial, cyber, data, biological, resource, nuclear, space, and maritime security. Mechanisms for countering foreign sanctions, interference, and long-arm jurisdiction will be strengthened. We will improve the allocation of national security resources and create a coordinated, multi-dimensional, and highly effective system for protecting national security across all domains.
2. Strengthening our capacity for safeguarding national security
We will resolutely safeguard the security of China’s state power, systems, and ideology and build up security capacity in key areas. We will ensure the security of food, energy, and resources as well as key industrial and supply chains. We will strengthen our capacity to ensure overseas security and protect the lawful rights and interests of Chinese citizens and legal entities overseas. We will safeguard China’s maritime rights and interests and resolutely defend our country’s sovereignty, security, and development interests. We will enhance our capacity to prevent and mitigate major risks and will remain on high alert against systemic security risks. We will crack down hard on infiltration, sabotage, subversion, and separatist activities by hostile forces.
We will conduct extensive public communications about the importance of national security and improve the ability of leading officials at all levels to ensure security in the pursuit of development. This will raise the people’s awareness and readiness regarding national security and strengthen the public line of defense.
3. Enhancing public safety governance
We will follow the principles of putting safety first and placing emphasis on prevention, and we will establish an overall safety and emergency response framework. The public safety system will be improved, and we will drive a shift in public safety governance toward a model of prevention. Workplace safety risk controls will be strengthened, and safety supervision in key sectors and areas will be bolstered. We will enhance our capacity for disaster prevention, mitigation, and relief and for responding to and providing support during major public emergencies. Regional emergency response capacity will be strengthened. We will tighten supervision over food and drug safety and improve the systems of supervision, early warning, and prevention and control for biosafety and biosecurity. Protection of personal information will be strengthened.
4. Improving the social governance system
We will improve the social governance system based on collaboration, participation, and shared benefits, so as to make social governance more effective. We will apply and further develop the “Fengqiao model” for promoting community-level governance in the new era, and we will improve the mechanisms for appropriately addressing disputes between members of the public under the new circumstances. We will improve our work in handling public complaints and maintain open and regular channels for learning about people’s concerns, handling their claims, and protecting their rights and interests. Primary-level social governance platforms featuring grid-based management, meticulous services, and IT support will be improved to strengthen urban and rural community governance. We should see that problems are resolved as they emerge at the community level.
We will work faster to modernize and enhance social governance in cities. We will take a holistic approach to ensuring law and order, we will consistently combat and root out organized crime, and we will lawfully crack down on various illegal and criminal activities that cause grave public concern. We will boost public participation in crime prevention and control and create an atmosphere that honors individuals who rise to the occasion during emergencies. This will foster a community of social governance in which everyone fulfills their responsibilities and shares in the benefits.
XII. Achieving the Centenary Goal of the People’s Liberation Army and Further Modernizing National Defense and the Military
Achieving the goals for the centenary of the People’s Liberation Army in 2027 and more quickly elevating our people’s armed forces to world-class standards are strategic tasks for building a modern socialist country in all respects. To this end, we must apply the thinking on strengthening the military for the new era, implement the military strategy for the new era, and maintain the Party’s absolute leadership over the people’s armed forces.
We will continue to enhance political loyalty in the military, strengthen the military through reform, science and technology, and personnel training, and run the military in accordance with the law. We will simultaneously carry out operations, boost combat preparedness, and enhance our military capabilities. We will continue integrated development of the military through mechanization, informatization, and the application of smart technologies and work faster to modernize military theory, organizational forms, personnel, and weaponry and equipment. We will enhance the military’s strategic capabilities for defending China’s sovereignty, security, and development interests and see that the people’s armed forces effectively fulfill their missions and tasks in the new era.
We will strengthen Party building across the board in the people’s armed forces to ensure that they always obey the Party’s command. We will improve the institutions and mechanisms for implementing the system of ultimate responsibility resting with the chairman of the Central Military Commission.
We will continue to arm our military service members with the Party’s new theories and carry out activities so that they gain a good command of the thinking on strengthening the military and contribute their share to building a strong military. We will encourage military personnel to learn more about the history of the military, promote a thriving military culture, and redouble efforts to foster our military’s fighting spirit.
We will strengthen Party organizations in the people’s armed forces, carry out regular activities and put in place institutions to improve the military’s political work, and make unremitting efforts to improve conduct, enforce discipline, and combat corruption in the military.
We will intensify troop training and enhance combat preparedness across the board to see that our people’s armed forces can fight and win. We will study and gain a good grasp of the characteristics of informatized and intelligent warfare and the laws that govern it, provide new military strategic guidance, and develop strategies and tactics for a people’s war.
We will establish a strong system of strategic deterrence, increase the proportion of new-domain forces with new combat capabilities, speed up the development of unmanned, intelligent combat capabilities, and promote coordinated development and application of the network information system.
We will improve the command system for joint operations and enhance our systems and capacity for reconnaissance and early warning, joint strikes, battlefield support, and integrated logistics support.
We will intensify military training under combat conditions, laying emphasis on joint training, force-on-force training, and high-tech training. We will become more adept at deploying our military forces on a regular basis and in diversified ways, and our military will remain both steadfast and flexible as it carries out its operations. This will enable us to shape our security posture, deter and manage crises and conflicts, and win local wars.
We will strengthen all-around military governance. We will build on and expand the gains of national defense and military reform, improve the structure and composition of the armed forces, and refine the framework of military policies and institutions.
In fulfilling major tasks for national defense and military development, we will coordinate our operations, capacity building, and combat preparedness. We will speed up the development of modern logistics, implement major projects to develop defense-related science and technology, weaponry, and equipment, and move faster to translate scientific and technological advances into combat capabilities.
We will deepen the reform of military universities and colleges, build a strong system for training new types of military personnel, and develop new ways to manage military human resources. We will strengthen mechanisms and strategic planning for running the armed forces in accordance with the law and improve the Chinese system for law-based administration of military affairs. We will refine strategic management, improve the performance of the military system, and put defense resources to better use.
We will consolidate and enhance integrated national strategies and strategic capabilities. We will better coordinate strategies and plans, align policies and systems, and share resources and production factors between the military and civilian sectors. We will improve the system and layout of science, technology, and industries related to national defense and step up capacity building in these areas.
We will raise public awareness of the importance of national defense. We will improve our national defense mobilization capacity and the development of our reserve forces, and we will modernize our border, coastal, and air defense. We will better motivate service personnel and their family members through military honors and do more to protect their rights and interests. Better services and support will be provided to ex-service personnel. We will consolidate and boost unity between the military and the government and between the military and the people.
Our people’s armed forces are a heroic fighting force that enjoys the full trust of the Party and the people. They have the confidence and the ability to safeguard China’s sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity; the confidence and the ability to provide strategic support for the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation; and the confidence and the ability to make yet greater contributions to world peace and development.
XIII. Upholding and Improving the Policy of One Country, Two Systems and Promoting National Reunification
The policy of One Country, Two Systems is a great innovation of socialism with Chinese characteristics. It has proven to be the best institutional arrangement for ensuring sustained prosperity and stability in Hong Kong and Macao after their return to the motherland. This policy must be adhered to over the long term.
We will fully, faithfully, and resolutely implement the policy of One Country, Two Systems, under which the people of Hong Kong administer Hong Kong and the people of Macao administer Macao, both with a high degree of autonomy. We will remain committed to law-based governance in Hong Kong and Macao and maintain constitutional order in these two special administrative regions as stipulated in China’s Constitution and their basic laws.
We will uphold and improve the systems for implementing the One Country, Two Systems policy and ensure that the central government exercises overall jurisdiction over the two regions. We will see that Hong Kong and Macao are administered by patriots and that the laws and enforcement mechanisms for safeguarding national security are implemented there.
We will ensure both the central government’s overall jurisdiction and a high degree of autonomy in the special administrative regions. We will uphold executive-led government in Hong Kong and Macao and support the chief executives and governments of the two regions in exercising law-based administration, enhancing their overall governance and management capacity, and improving their judicial and legal systems. We will ensure that the capitalist system and way of life remain unchanged in Hong Kong and Macao in the long run and work to promote long-term prosperity and stability in the two regions.
We will support Hong Kong and Macao in growing their economies, improving their people’s lives, and resolving deep-seated issues and problems in economic and social development. We will give full play to the strengths and distinctive features of the two regions to see them consolidate and elevate their international position in finance, trade, shipping, aviation, innovation and technology, culture and tourism, and other fields.
We will encourage Hong Kong and Macao to conduct deeper, closer, and broader exchanges and cooperation with other regions and countries. We will continue to develop the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and support Hong Kong and Macao in better integrating themselves into China’s overall development and playing a greater role in realizing national rejuvenation.
We will inspire more people in Hong Kong and Macao to love both the country and their own regions, be more patriotic, and forge a broader united front at home and abroad in support of the One Country, Two Systems policy. We will crack down hard on anti-China elements who attempt to create chaos in Hong Kong and Macao. We will take resolute action to prevent and stop interference in the affairs of Hong Kong and Macao by external forces.
Resolving the Taiwan question and realizing China’s complete reunification is, for the Party, a historic mission and an unshakable commitment. It is also a shared aspiration of all the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation and a natural requirement for realizing the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. We will implement our Party’s overall policy for resolving the Taiwan question in the new era, maintain the initiative and the ability to steer in cross-Strait relations, and unswervingly advance the cause of national reunification.
The policies of peaceful reunification and One Country, Two Systems are the best way to realize reunification across the Taiwan Strait; this best serves the interests of Chinese people on both sides of the Strait and the entire Chinese nation. We will adhere to the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus. On this basis, we will conduct extensive and in-depth consultations on cross-Strait relations and national reunification with people from all political parties, sectors, and social strata in Taiwan, and we will work with them to promote peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and advance the process of China’s peaceful reunification.
We will stand closely with our Taiwan compatriots, give firm support to patriots in Taiwan who desire reunification, and join hands to keep pace with the trends of history. We will safeguard the overall interests of the Chinese nation and take resolute steps to oppose “Taiwan independence” and promote reunification. Our great country will forever stand firm behind all patriots who support reunification.
Blood runs thicker than water, and fellow Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are one family bound by blood. We have always shown respect and care for our Taiwan compatriots and worked to deliver benefits to them. We will continue to promote economic and cultural exchanges and cooperation across the Strait, advance our integrated development in all fields, and improve systems and policies that contribute to the wellbeing of our Taiwan compatriots. We will encourage people on both sides of the Strait to work together to promote Chinese culture and forge closer bonds.
Taiwan is China’s Taiwan. Resolving the Taiwan question is a matter for the Chinese, a matter that must be resolved by the Chinese. We will continue to strive for peaceful reunification with the greatest sincerity and the utmost effort, but we will never promise to renounce the use of force, and we reserve the option of taking all measures necessary. This is directed solely at interference by outside forces and the few separatists seeking “Taiwan independence” and their separatist activities; it is by no means targeted at our Taiwan compatriots.
The wheels of history are rolling on toward China’s reunification and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Complete reunification of our country must be realized, and it can, without doubt, be realized!
XIV. Promoting World Peace and Development and Building a Human Community with a Shared Future
Today, our world, our times, and history are changing in ways like never before. The historical trends of peace, development, cooperation, and mutual benefit are unstoppable. The will of the people and the general trends of our day will eventually lead to a bright future for humanity. And yet, the hegemonic, high-handed, and bullying acts of using strength to intimidate the weak, taking from others by force and subterfuge, and playing zero-sum games are exerting grave harm. The deficit in peace, development, security, and governance is growing. All of this is posing unprecedented challenges for human society. The world has once again reached a crossroads in history, and its future course will be decided by all the world’s peoples.
For its part, China has always been committed to its foreign policy goals of upholding world peace and promoting common development, and it is dedicated to promoting a human community with a shared future.
China remains firm in pursuing an independent foreign policy of peace. It has always decided its position and policy on issues based on their own merits, and it has strived to uphold the basic norms governing international relations and safeguard international fairness and justice.
China respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries. It stays true to the principle of equality of all countries big or small, strong or weak, and rich or poor, and it respects the development paths and social systems independently chosen by all the world’s peoples.
China stands firmly against all forms of hegemonism and power politics, the Cold War mentality, interference in other countries’ internal affairs, and double standards.
China pursues a defensive national defense policy, and its development strengthens the world’s forces for peace. No matter what stage of development it reaches, China will never seek hegemony or engage in expansionism.
China adheres to the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence[ The Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence are mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual nonaggression, noninterference in each other’s internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence.] in pursuing friendship and cooperation with other countries. It is committed to promoting a new type of international relations, deepening and expanding global partnerships based on equality, openness, and cooperation, and broadening the convergence of interests with other countries. China works to enhance coordination and positive interaction with other major countries to build major-country relations featuring peaceful coexistence, overall stability, and balanced development. Acting on the principles of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit, and inclusiveness and the policy of forging friendships and partnerships with its neighbors, China strives to enhance friendly ties, mutual trust, and converging interests with its neighboring countries. Guided by the principles of sincerity, real results, affinity, and good faith and with a commitment to the greater good and shared interests, China endeavors to strengthen solidarity and cooperation with other developing countries and safeguard the common interests of the developing world.
The Communist Party of China stands ready to boost exchanges and cooperation with political parties and organizations of other countries based on the principles of independence, complete equality, mutual respect, and noninterference in each other’s internal affairs. Our Party encourages people’s congresses, CPPCC committees, the military, local governments, and people’s organizations to expand their external exchanges.
China is committed to its fundamental national policy of opening to the outside world and pursues a mutually beneficial strategy of opening up. It strives to create new opportunities for the world with its own development and to contribute its share to building an open global economy that delivers greater benefits to all peoples.
China adheres to the right course of economic globalization. It strives to promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, advance bilateral, regional, and multilateral cooperation, and boost international macroeconomic policy coordination. It is committed to working with other countries to foster an international environment conducive to development and create new drivers for global growth. China opposes protectionism, the erection of “fences and barriers,” decoupling, disruption of industrial and supply chains, unilateral sanctions, and maximum-pressure tactics.
China is prepared to invest more resources in global development cooperation. It is committed to narrowing the North-South gap and supporting and assisting other developing countries in accelerating development.
China plays an active part in the reform and development of the global governance system. It pursues a vision of global governance featuring shared growth through discussion and collaboration. China upholds true multilateralism, promotes greater democracy in international relations, and works to make global governance fairer and more equitable.
China is firm in safeguarding the international system with the United Nations at its core, the international order underpinned by international law, and the basic norms governing international relations based on the purposes and principles of the UN Charter. It opposes all forms of unilateralism and the forming of blocs and exclusive groups targeted against particular countries.
China works to see that multilateral institutions such as the WTO and APEC better play their roles, cooperation mechanisms such as BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) exert greater influence, and emerging markets and developing countries are better represented and have a greater say in global affairs.
China is actively involved in setting global security rules, works to promote international security cooperation, and takes an active part in UN peacekeeping operations. China plays a constructive role in safeguarding world peace and regional stability.
Building a human community with a shared future is the way forward for all the world’s peoples. An ancient Chinese philosopher observed that “all living things may grow side by side without harming one another, and different roads may run in parallel without interfering with one another.” Only when all countries pursue the cause of common good, live in harmony, and engage in cooperation for mutual benefit will there be sustained prosperity and guaranteed security. It is in this spirit that China has put forward the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative, and it stands ready to work with the international community to put these two initiatives into action.
China is committed to building a world of lasting peace through dialogue and consultation, a world of universal security through collaboration and shared benefits, a world of common prosperity through mutually beneficial cooperation, an open and inclusive world through exchanges and mutual learning, and a clean and beautiful world through green and low-carbon development.
We sincerely call upon all countries to hold dear humanity’s shared values of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy, and freedom; to promote mutual understanding and forge closer bonds with other peoples; and to respect the diversity of civilizations. Let us allow cultural exchanges to transcend estrangement, mutual learning to transcend clashes, and coexistence to transcend feelings of superiority. Let us all join forces to meet all types of global challenges.
Although this is an era fraught with challenges, it is also an era brimming with hope. The Chinese people are ready to work hand in hand with people across the world to create an even brighter future for humanity.
