11. Safeguarding national security

Since the launch of reform and opening up, the Party has attached great importance to properly handling the relationship between reform, development, and stability. With this in mind, it has defined safeguarding national security and social stability as a fundamental task for the Party and the country in order to cultivate a sound security environment for reform, opening up, and socialist modernization.

In the new era, China is faced with more acute national security challenges, as evidenced by unprecedented external pressure, intertwined traditional and nontraditional security threats, and frequent "black swan" and "grey rhino" events. China's ability to safeguard national security falls short of what is required of us by the current circumstances and tasks. We need to strengthen our capacity for responding to various major risks, and improve mechanisms for coordinating efforts to safeguard national security.

The Central Committee has stressed that the most fundamental and universal desire of our people is to live in a safe and peaceful nation. We must always be prepared for worst-case scenarios and mindful of potential dangers. We must uphold the primacy of our national interests and 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 means of guarantee, and international security as the support. We must find a balance between development and security, between opening up and security, between traditional and non-traditional security, between China's domestic security and the common security of the world, and between safeguarding national security and creating conditions conducive to it.

Comrade Xi Jinping has stressed that our Party should make national security its top priority. He has put forward a holistic approach to national security, which covers political, military, homeland security, economic, cultural, social, technological, cyberspace, ecological, resource, nuclear, overseas interests, outer space, deep sea, polar, and biological security issues, among others. He has urged all Party members to enhance their fighting spirit and fighting capacity and to fulfill their responsibilities for guarding against and defusing various risks as they exercise leadership and carry out their work.

The Central Committee is acutely aware that, confronted with various types of external encirclement, suppression, disruption, and subversion, we must not be misguided or intimidated, and we must fight to the end with any forces that would attempt to subvert the leadership of the Communist Party of China and China's socialist system, or to hinder or obstruct China's advance toward national rejuvenation. Constant concessions will only invite more bullying and humiliation.

The Party has redoubled its efforts to strengthen the national security system and capacity building in this regard. It established a national security commission under the Central Committee, and it has improved the centralized, high-performing, and authoritative leadership system and the legal, strategy, and policy systems for national security. It has also put in place coordination and emergency management mechanisms for national security.

The Party has incorporated security imperatives into all areas throughout the process of national development, placed emphasis on guarding against and defusing major risks that may affect China's modernization process, and resolutely safeguarded political, institutional, and ideological security. The Party has enhanced efforts to raise public awareness about the importance of national security and national defense and consolidated the public line of defense for national security. Solid steps have been taken to boost development, raise living standards, and ensure stability in border areas and to strictly prevent and crack down on infiltration, sabotage, subversion, and separatist activities by hostile forces. The Party has withstood and pushed back against extreme external pressure, stood up on issues such as those related to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Xinjiang, Tibet, and territorial waters, and moved faster to build a strong maritime country. Through all these efforts, we have effectively safeguarded national security.

Since the 18th National Congress, we have enhanced national security on all fronts and overcome many political, economic, ideological, and natural risks, challenges, and trials. This has helped ensure that the Party and the country thrive and enjoy lasting stability.