Liu Wei: Research on the Fundamental Connotations, Historical Logic, and Practical Paths of the New Security Landscape
I. The Proposal and Evolution of the New Security Pattern
Since the 18th Party Congress, the CPC Central Committee has attached great importance to national security work, consistently coordinating development—the "top priority" (diyì yaowu)—with security—the "paramount task" (toudeng dashi). By coordinating these two major issues of development and security, the Party has continuously refined and deepened the connotation of the relationship between them, sublimating it into the New Security Pattern within the process of building the New Development Pattern. The evolution from emphasizing "development" to placing equal weight on "development and security," and finally to the formulation of the "New Security Pattern," can be roughly divided into five stages (see Table 1).
(1) The First Stage: From emphasizing "development" to placing equal weight on "development" and "security" On November 12, 2013, in the Explanation of the Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Several Major Issues Concerning Comprehensively Deepening Reform delivered at the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, Xi Jinping pointed out: "National security and social stability are the prerequisites for reform and development. Only with national security and social stability can reform and development be continuously promoted." This was the first systematic elaboration of the important relationship between "national security" and "reform and development" after the 18th Party Congress.
On April 15, 2014, at the first meeting of the Central National Security Commission, Xi Jinping emphasized: "We must attach importance to both development and security issues. Development is the foundation of security, and security is the condition for development. Only a rich country can have a strong military, and only a strong military can defend the country." This further articulated the relationship between the two. On April 25 of the same year, during the 14th collective study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Xi emphasized the need to "attach importance to both development and security issues," subsequently elevating "development and security" to one of the five pairs of relationships within the Holistic Approach to National Security [1].
(2) The Second Stage: From "persisting in balancing development and security" to "coordinating development and security" On January 23, 2015, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, while reviewing and approving the National Security Strategy Outline, noted the need to "promote security through development, reform, and opening up." On December 9, 2016, during a meeting to analyze economic work for 2017 and review the Opinions on Strengthening National Security Work, the Bureau for the first time identified "coordinating development and security" as the two major tasks for upholding the Holistic Approach to National Security. It proposed to "coordinate the two major domestic and international arenas, and coordinate the two major issues of development and security." At this point, the phrasing "coordinating development and security" was formally established.
At the National Security Work Symposium held on February 17, 2017, Xi Jinping once again emphasized that maintaining national security must "persist in coordinating development and security."
(3) The Third Stage: Elevating "coordinating development and security" to a major principle of the Party’s governance On October 18, 2017, the guiding status of these two major tasks was further elevated. The Report to the 19th CPC National Congress incorporated the Holistic Approach to National Security into the basic strategy for upholding and developing Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in the New Era. It raised "coordinating development and security, strengthening awareness of potential dangers, and remaining vigilant against adversity in times of peace" [2] to a major principle of the Party’s governance of the country.
On April 17, 2018, at the first meeting of the 19th Central National Security Commission, Xi Jinping emphasized: "To fully implement the Holistic Approach to National Security, we must persist in coordinating the two major tasks of development and security. We must be adept at using the fruits of development to consolidate the strength-based foundation of national security, and also be adept at shaping a security environment conducive to economic and social development." Consequently, "coordinating development and security" gradually integrated into the discourse on high-quality security-development guided by the New Development Philosophy [3] of the New Era.
(4) The Fourth Stage: From "coordinating development and security" to the "Great Security Pattern" safeguarding the New Development Pattern On September 17, 2020, at a symposium for grassroots representatives, Xi Jinping pointed out the need to "persist in the general principle of seeking progress while maintaining stability, adhere to the New Development Philosophy, coordinate development and security, and accelerate the formation of a New Development Pattern with the domestic cycle as the mainstay and the domestic and international dual cycles promoting each other." This statement for the first time closely linked "coordinating development and security" with the construction of the "New Development Pattern."
On October 29, 2020, at the second plenary session of the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee, Xi Jinping noted that an important focus for building the New Development Pattern is "to firmly hold the bottom line of secure development," viewing the coordination of development and security as an essential prerequisite and guarantee. On the afternoon of December 11, 2020, during the 26th collective study session of the Political Bureau, Xi emphasized the need to "integrate national security into all aspects and the whole process of the Party and state’s work, planning and deploying it together with economic and social development, adhering to systems thinking, and constructing a Great Security Pattern (da anquan geju)." The "Great Security Pattern" inherently encompasses the "coordination of the two major tasks of development and security" and the "coordination of the two major domestic and international arenas," marking the transition of the Holistic Approach to National Security from a concept to a governance framework.
(5) The Fifth Stage: From "Great Security Pattern" to "New Security Pattern" On November 11, 2021, the Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the Major Achievements and Historical Experience of the Party over the Past Century, adopted at the Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee, noted that a major achievement in the deepening understanding of the laws governing socialist construction and theoretical innovation was: "Grasping the new stage of development, implementing the New Development Philosophy of innovation, coordination, green development, openness, and sharing, accelerating the construction of a New Development Pattern... promoting high-quality development, and coordinating development and security." On November 18, 2021, the Political Bureau met to review the National Security Strategy (2021–2025). The meeting noted: "To maintain national security under the new situation, we must firmly establish the Holistic Approach to National Security and accelerate the construction of a New Security Pattern." This was the first mention of the "New Security Pattern." Emerging from the same lineage as the "Great Security Pattern," the "New Security Pattern" highlights the benign interaction and dynamic balance between implementing the New Development Philosophy, achieving high-quality development, and maintaining high-level security.
On October 16, 2022, the report to the 20th CPC National Congress included a dedicated chapter on "National Security," explicitly proposing to "safeguard the New Development Pattern with a New Security Pattern." The proposal of the "New Security Pattern" fully reflects the refining and sublimation of the CCP's theoretical achievements and practical experience in maintaining national security. It marks a new height in the Party's understanding of national security work and signifies a new shift in the concept of "modernizing the national security system and capabilities and resolutely maintaining national security and social stability." It clarifies the importance of conforming to and safeguarding the New Development Pattern within the process of Chinese-path modernization and indicates a systematic deployment for the overall work of maintaining and shaping national security.
II. The Basic Connotations of the New Security Pattern
Based on coordinating the two major domestic and international arenas and accurately grasping the balance between reform, development, and stability in the process of Chinese-path modernization, the New Security Pattern inherently reflects the new situations, stages, conditions, and problems of international and domestic development, as well as new concepts and visions for national security.
(1) Newness in the evolution of the international situation In the world today, the "changes unseen in a century" [4] are accelerating. The profound impact of the pandemic persists, the world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation, and the international order is in a transition between the old and the new. The international balance of power continues to shift, the geostrategic landscape is undergoing deep adjustments, and relations between major powers are in flux. Emerging technologies have brought brand-new challenges to global security governance. The international situation is becoming increasingly complex, with a significant increase in factors of uncertainty, instability, and unpredictability.
Profound changes are occurring across global economic, technological, cultural, and security fields. Economic globalization is facing headwinds, global supply chains are accelerating their restructuring, the risk of localized wars is increasing, the political gambits over climate change are intensifying, and extreme ideologies are fracturing societies. A series of global issues in traditional and non-traditional security fields pose realistic and direct threats to world peace and development; these are also the global risks and challenges that China's national security must face head-on.
(2) Newness in the historical positioning of the development stage Currently, China's development is still in a period of important strategic opportunity. On one hand, in the new journey of comprehensively promoting the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization, China's institutional advantages and governance effectiveness are increasingly evident. We have completed the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects as scheduled, won the battle against poverty, and maintained overall social stability. On the other hand, the development process faces multifaceted pressure from the external international environment, as well as many deep-seated, cyclical, structural, and institutional problems internally. Various contradictions are intertwined, and risks and challenges are increasing daily.
In the face of these changes, development remains the Party's top priority in governing and rejuvenating the country. We must accelerate the construction of a New Development Pattern with the domestic cycle as the mainstay and domestic and international dual cycles promoting each other. This is the new goal anchored by our historical positioning in development for the present and the future; it is the combined effect of historical and realistic logic.
(3) Newness in the situation and tasks of national security In the new journey of the New Era, faced with new changes in the international situation and the shift in historical positioning, security issues have become more complex, holistic, and interconnected. The situation and tasks of China's national security must change with the times to better coordinate development and security.
On one hand, we must adhere to systems thinking, continuously maintain and consolidate existing achievements in national security, and continue to solidify the grassroots foundation for national security and social stability. On the other hand, we must adhere to "bottom-line thinking" (dixian siwei), remaining vigilant against adversity and making preparations before the rain falls. We must both guard against "Black Swan" and "Gray Rhino" [5] events that could occur at any time and be prepared to withstand major tests involving "strong winds, high waves, or even perilous storms." We must continuously shape and promote the modernization of the national security system and capabilities. Therefore, in building the New Development Pattern, we must pay more attention to those major risks that could delay or even interrupt the process of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, dynamically ensuring secure development within the environment of opening up and on the path of deepening reform.
(4) Newness in the conceptual construction of the security pattern Since the 18th Party Congress, the Holistic Approach to National Security has served as the fundamental guideline for national security work in the New Era. It is the first major strategic thought in the history of the CPC to be established as the guiding ideology for national security work, and it serves as the conceptual framework for building the New Security Pattern. Constructing the New Security Pattern requires grasping the "holistic" (zòngtǐ) key of this approach, using systems thinking, strategic thinking, and bottom-line thinking to coordinate development and security, planning and deploying national security alongside economic and social development in a synchronized and coordinated manner.
Under the guidance of the Holistic Approach to National Security, we must remain problem-oriented and maintain an awareness of potential dangers, grasp the New Development Philosophy, and firmly hold the bottom line of secure development while accelerating the New Development Pattern. On the path of Chinese-path modernization, we must persist in seeking progress while maintaining stability amidst predictable and unpredictable risks and challenges. We must correctly handle the relationship between reform, development, and stability, persisting in smoothly resolving various contradictions and risks through development, and optimizing development through the resolution of such challenges. This will achieve a deep and organic integration of development and security, creating a benign interaction between high-level security and high-quality development.
(5) Newness in the core connotations and essentials of the security pattern [Note: Original text lists this as (4); corrected to sequence] The national security pattern in the new stage of development is a New Security Pattern that aligns with the New Development Pattern under the guidance of the Holistic Approach to National Security.
The New Security Pattern treats national security as the paramount task. It targets the new opportunities and challenges facing national security in the new stage of development, with the absolute leadership of the Party over national security work as the fundamental guarantee. In choosing the path of the national security path with Chinese characteristics, it upholds the fundamental position of taking people's security as the purpose, placing political security—the lifeline of national security—at the forefront. It regards security in various fields as the main battlefield and the prevention and resolution of national security risks as the central task. With the responsibility of a major power to promote international common security, it coordinates development and security. From the four aspects of improving the national security system, enhancing the capability to maintain national security, improving public security governance, and refining the social governance system, it coordinates the maintenance and shaping of national security. It continuously solidifies the grassroots foundation of national security and social stability, improves participation mechanisms in global security governance at the global level, and builds a "Peaceful China" (Ping'an Zhongguo) at a higher level domestically, ensuring the secure development of the New Development Pattern.
(6) Newness in the mission and vision of the security pattern Entering the new stage of development, China has welcomed a great leap from standing up and becoming rich to becoming strong, and it faces the bright prospect of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. The New Security Pattern, which coordinates development and security, is the foundation for the mission and vision of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
Faced with this mission and vision, accelerating the construction of a new security pattern requires unswervingly implementing the Holistic Approach to National Security and integrating the maintenance of national security throughout all aspects and the entire process of Party and state work. This is a foundational and systemic project to ensure the victory of the "Great Struggle, Great Project, Great Cause, and Great Dream" [6] in the New Era. Naturally, we must also maintain a cool and sober realization that during the "summit-climbing" stage of a great power’s rejuvenation, development lacking security could expose us to an "attack while half-crossing" [7] or cause the great rejuvenation—which is currently in an irreversible process—to encounter more obstacles and tribulations. This is an unavoidable challenge in China’s progression from being large to being strong. The new security pattern serves as the robust security guarantee to ensure the continuous advancement of the cause of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
III. The Historical Logic of the New Security Pattern
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the issues of development and security have run through the practices of different historical stages of our country's development. Faced with domestic conditions and the international security situation, we have prudently sought the equilibrium point in the relationship between "development and security" (see Table 2). The formation of the new security pattern is a necessary requirement based on the historical development tasks and the reality of national security practices in different periods; it is also an inherent part of expanding the path of national security with Chinese characteristics and realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
(1) The period of socialist revolution and construction (1949–1978) Regarding the domestic environment, after the founding of New China, our country ended the totalizing social crisis that had persisted since the late Qing Dynasty, yet the developmental foundation in all areas was extremely weak. Concerning the people’s most basic issue of sustenance, we faced a severe grain situation. In 1949, the total national grain output was 225.4768 billion jin, a 21% decrease from the 284.46 billion jin of 1936–1937 (the highest output in old China’s history), with an average of only 475 jin of raw grain per person per year. This sharp contradiction between grain supply and demand was directly related to the popular support, social stability, and consolidation of the New China regime. The industrial base, the lifeblood and pillar of national economic development, was similarly weak. In June 1954, Mao Zedong pointed out: "What can we make now? We can make tables and chairs, teacups and teapots; we can grow grain and grind it into flour; we can make paper. But we cannot make a single motor vehicle, plane, tank, or tractor." At the same time, various reactionary forces and saboteurs plotted attacks against the newborn regime at any moment, attempting to subvert the state. Regarding the international environment, New China was founded just as the bipolar confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union was beginning to take shape. Coupled with the hostilities of the Korean War and ideological opposition, the Western capitalist camp, led by the United States, adopted hostile policies toward China, implementing political isolation, economic blockades, and military encirclement. By the late 1950s, contradictions and conflicts in Sino-Soviet relations gradually intensified. For a long period, China had to face realistic threats from two superpowers, and the security environment was extremely harsh.
Throughout the period of socialist revolution and construction, the consistent theme was realizing the transition from New Democracy to socialism, carrying out the socialist revolution, and advancing socialist construction. After the completion of the socialist transformation, the Eighth National Congress of the Party in 1956 proposed: "The principal contradiction in our country is already the contradiction between the people's demand for the establishment of an advanced industrial country and the reality of a backward agricultural country; it is the contradiction between the people's need for rapid economic and cultural development and the current situation where economy and culture cannot meet the people's needs." During this stage, socialist construction and development provided the strong guarantee for resolving the risks and challenges of the principal social contradiction and creating a favorable international and peripheral security environment. On the balance of development and security, we emphasized security issues more in the early years of New China, and shifted more weight toward development as socialist construction progressed. In terms of historical reality, without security, there would have been no consolidation of the New China regime; without development, there would have been no strength for New China to create and expand its international and peripheral security environment.
(2) The period of reform and opening up and socialist modernization (1978–2012) From a domestic perspective, after reform and opening up, the focus of Party and state work shifted toward socialist modernization. The transition of the economic system and the transformation of the social structure drove earth-shaking changes in Chinese society. On one hand, Comrade Deng Xiaoping proposed the "three-step" strategy [8] to advance China's modernization, achieving world-renowned successes in economic and social development. In 1978, China's total GDP was only 367.87 billion yuan, and the per capita disposable income of urban residents was a mere 343 yuan; by 2010, China's total GDP jumped to 41.3 trillion yuan, surpassing Japan to become the world's second-largest economy, with per capita GDP reaching 30,876 yuan. On the other hand, Western hostile forces took the opportunity to intensify penetration, attempting to carry out "peaceful evolution" [9] and subvert our regime. Furthermore, various problems accumulated and left over from the process of rapid economic and social development became very prominent. Security issues in multiple fields—such as the excessive wealth gap, unbalanced regional development, serious environmental pollution, frequent social contradictions, and the frequent occurrence of violent terrorist crimes—posed serious challenges to our national security. Multiple security issues impacting domestic stability, such as "Xinjiang independence," "Tibet independence," and "Taiwan independence," rose and fell in relative prominence, while non-traditional security threat factors grew daily.
From an international perspective, after the 1970s, Sino-US relations achieved a major breakthrough, US-Soviet relations saw a degree of relaxation, and the collapse of the Soviet Union formed a "one superpower, many strong powers" world pattern dominated by the United States. Faced with a complex international landscape, peace and development remained the themes of the times, yet non-traditional security issues such as global financial crises, transnational crime, public health security, climate issues, and food security emerged incessantly. Especially after the "9/11" incident in the United States, terrorism, separatism, religious extremism, and extreme democratism spread rapidly across the globe. With China's rapid economic development, Western countries began to use their discursive hegemony to loudly trumpet the "China collapse theory," "China threat theory," and "China responsibility theory" in the international community, exerting enormous pressure on the international security environment faced by China's development. To contain China's rise, certain non-state actors and Western NGOs in the international community continuously pressured China, even maliciously constructing the "South China Sea issue" to influence the stability of our periphery and implement containment.
Throughout the period of reform and opening up and socialist modernization, the consistent question was how to liberate and develop the productive forces, continuously advance all-around reform and opening up and comprehensive socialist modernization, and provide the institutional and material guarantees for developing socialism with Chinese characteristics. During this stage, with peace and development as the themes of the times, China seized development opportunities, seeking development and harmony internally and cooperation and peace externally. On the basis of maintaining overall domestic social stability, China attached great importance to and effectively responded to various non-traditional security risks, challenges, and threats, playing an important role in maintaining world peace and responding to global challenges. On the relationship between development and security, for a period after reform and opening up, we emphasized development issues more; as reform deepened and socialist modernization advanced, we began to focus on the balance between domestic and international development and security. In terms of historical reality, China’s economic and national security strength achieved a massive leap during this stage. Without development, there would have been no security and stability conditions or foundation for reform, opening up, and the advancement of socialist modernization; without security, there would have been no favorable international and domestic environment or guarantee to sustain China’s high-speed economic and social development.
(3) The New Era of socialism with Chinese characteristics (2012–present) Domestically, since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new stage of development. On one hand, Chinese-path modernization has steadily advanced, and the long-term positive trend of China's economic and social development has not changed. In 2022, China continued to maintain its position as the world's second-largest economy, historically resolved the problem of absolute poverty, significantly improved the ecological environment, and maintained sustained stability in the overall social situation. On the other hand, during the development process, the proposal of the Holistic Approach to National Security provided a powerful ideological weapon, fundamental guidance, and action manual for national security work in the New Era. The security foundation for development has been further consolidated, yet deep-seated, structural, cyclical, accumulative, and unexpected risks and hidden dangers continue to emerge. Separatist forces such as "Tibet independence," "Xinjiang independence," "Taiwan independence," and "Hong Kong independence" collateralize with external forces to continuously threaten domestic security and stability.
Internationally, the world faces the dual impact of the "changes unseen in a century" [10] and the pandemic of the century. Regional conflicts and local wars persist, the international landscape and order are under shock, and traditional and non-traditional security are intertwined and permeated, with threats in non-traditional security fields becoming increasingly prominent. Meanwhile, a minority of Western countries led by the United States have formed an "anti-China alliance" through bloc-based approaches, taking a series of interventionist and suppressive measures against China in economy, technology, and trade. They continuously hype the "decoupling theory" and cast groundless accusations against China regarding Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Tibet, the Taiwan Strait, and the origin-tracing of the pandemic. The characteristics of national security risks—such as fluidity, transnationality, suddenness, and destructiveness—have become more pronounced, and exceptionally complex major security risks and challenges, both predictable and unpredictable, are gradually manifesting.
Reform, development, and stability are the important fulcrums for advancing Chinese-path modernization. Development remains the key to resolving our country's principal social contradiction and socio-economic problems; it is the Party's top priority in governing and rejuvenating the country. National security also runs through all aspects and the entire process of Party and state work. Development and security are "the two wings of a bird, the two wheels of a cart." On the relationship between development and security, in the New Era, we regard development as the foundation of security and security as the condition for development. In the process of advancing Chinese-path modernization, the prerequisites are national security and social stability. We have elevated the coordination of development and security to the height of national governance, taking "secure development" as the bottom line and the important prerequisite and guarantee for building the new development pattern and advancing Chinese-path modernization. We promote the deep and organic integration of development and security in all directions, aspects, and processes, and advance global security governance and international common security.
IV. The Practical Path for Constructing the New Security Pattern
Since the founding of New China, through the accumulation and development of three historical periods, socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered the New Era, and our country's development has entered a new stage. Faced with a complex international and domestic environment and various contradictions, risks, and challenges, the path to maintaining and shaping national security must be based on a global vision and local practice. Under the insistence on the Party's absolute leadership over national security work, we must strengthen the grassroots foundation of national security, bolster the construction of a high-level Peaceful China, improve global security governance mechanisms, and accelerate the construction of a new security pattern.
(1) Insisting on the Party's absolute leadership over national security work Insisting on the Party's absolute leadership over national security work is the fundamental guarantee for constructing the new security pattern in the New Era. First, only by upholding the Central Committee's authority and centralized, unified leadership over national security work can we maintain the emphasis and balance between development and security at different stages; this is an important experience from history and reality, and a matter of direction and principle that cannot be blurred or shaken. Second, the Party's leadership must be integrated into all aspects and the entire process of maintaining and shaping national security. The construction of a new security pattern is a systemic project that requires forward-thinking, global planning, strategic layout, and holistic advancement. We must improve the efficient and authoritative national security leadership system to ensure that national security work in various key fields is seamlessly connected in guaranteeing the new development pattern. Third, we must strengthen the coordination mechanism for national security work under the Party's leadership. Party committees (and Party leadership groups) at all levels are the main bodies responsible for coordinating the maintenance and shaping of national security; they must focus on key national security tasks and specialized projects, as well as the implementation of national security decisions, deployments, and policies, at the level of grasping the overall situation and planning development.
(2) Continuing to improve the construction of the national security institutional system The construction of the national security institutional system is the fundamental institutional guarantee for building a new security pattern in the New Era. First, we must improve the institutional guarantees for the capacity to scientifically maintain national security and dynamically shape the national security posture. This requires continuous refinement in terms of strategy, policy, and coordination systems, as well as timely improvements in the risk monitoring and control institutional system, including national security risk judgment, risk assessment, risk prevention and control synergy, and risk prevention and control responsibility systems. Second, we must advance the construction of guarantee systems for the capacity to maintain and shape national security. This includes strengthening the rule of law in national security, accelerating legislation in key areas such as major infrastructure, nuclear, space, and maritime security, and doing a good job in preventing, stopping, punishing, and handling activities that endanger national security and interests...
"Safety nets" and "glass doors." Third, we must strengthen safeguards for foreign-related systems. This involves both strengthening institutional and mechanistic guarantees—such as countermeasures against sanctions, interference, and "long-arm jurisdiction"—and strengthening a complete systemic guarantee of legislation, law enforcement, and the judiciary to protect the legitimate overseas rights and interests of Chinese citizens and legal entities. Fourth, we must strengthen institutional safeguards, the executive power of these systems, and the implementation of foreign-related systems. This requires reinforcing the directional guidance of the institutional system, enhancing its overall effectiveness, and clarifying the boundaries of responsibilities for the diverse actors involved. By doing so, we aim to build a high-density, high-resilience national security institutional network to ensure the smooth construction of the new development pattern.
(3) Comprehensively enhancing the construction of the national security capability system Comprehensively enhancing the national security capability system must center on strengthening the ability to shape the national security posture; this represents a more forward-looking maintenance strategy. First, we must enhance the ability to plan national security strategy. With strategic resolve, strategic confidence, and strategic patience, we must implement systematic layouts and forward-looking planning. This is the fundamental issue for ensuring that the initiative for maintaining national security remains firmly in our own hands. Second, we must enhance the ability to perceive risk postures in shaping national security. Based on the deep application of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing, and blockchain, we must fully upgrade "digital-intelligent" (shuzhi) capabilities in the field of national security. This means moving from simple digitalization to digital intelligence, strengthening the perception of risks at their source and the perception of the overall situation. By leveraging modern technology to achieve risk perception, intelligent identification, situational analysis, and intelligent decision-making, we can "treat the disease before it arises" [11], thereby enhancing our capacity to prevent major security risks and systemic security risks. Third, we must improve the distribution of national security forces. We should coordinate the relationship between traditional and non-traditional security fields, external and internal security matters, the online and offline battlefields, human and technical methods, the two dimensions of prevention/mitigation and emergency response/management, and the comprehensive guarantees at both the overall macro-level and the fundamental grassroots level. In this way, we will build a national security protection system characterized by cross-domain coordination and multi-dimensional efficiency.
(4) Continuously improving the grassroots governance system for national security Grassroots governance is the foundational project for constructing the new security framework in the New Era, and the masses are the foundational strength for this construction. First, we must succeed in national security education and grassroots mobilization. We must fully address the national security grassroots governance needs of diverse actors at the community level within the "subject-demand-action" chain, while also fully attending to the decision-making of the national-level grassroots security governance within the "goal-decision-action" chain. Second, we must persist in and develop the "Fengqiao Experience" [12] for the New Era. Relying on the modern co-construction mechanism of grassroots Party organizations—characterized by "unitary leadership + pluralistic co-governance + network platforms"—we must focus on key aspects such as the prevention and resolution of contradictions and disputes at their source, the construction of grassroots mass prevention and treatment forces, and information-based grassroots grid governance platforms. By integrating the resources of diverse actors, we will continuously improve our ability to foresee, resolve, and handle grassroots security risks. Third, we must build a social order prevention and control system that combines points, lines, and planes; integrates strike, prevention, management, and control; and oversees both online and offline spaces. This will realize the monitoring, prevention, and resolution of security risks across domains, regions, levels, and dimensions in an all-encompassing manner with feedback loops, aggregating resources from multiple parties to solidify the social foundation of national security grassroots governance.
(5) Advancing the improvement of the international common security governance system International common security is a vital pillar for constructing the new security framework in the New Era and an internal requirement for ensuring the domestic and international dual circulation of the new development pattern. Global threats require a global response; no country can remain aloof, and any country's security shortcoming could become a major breach through which international security risks flow back in. Any national security issue may accumulate and spill over, evolving into a regional or global security problem. In response, first, we must unswervingly follow the path of peaceful development and advocate for a Global Security Initiative [13] that is "common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable," creating a powerful force to maintain and shape our national security through our own development. Second, within the international system, we must maintain strategic resolve and focus on "competitive coexistence." We should expand our competitive advantage through our development advantage, uphold the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits, and enhance our ability to jointly respond to international security risks, promoting security through developmental cooperation. Third, we must rely on the platform of the "Belt and Road" Initiative to promote international cooperation and deepen the international cycle. Using infrastructure, rules, and standards as important supports, we will work together for mutual benefit, creating high-quality international circular development. This will promote a benign international security order and mutually supportive international security governance, contributing Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to international common security.
Source: Socialism Studies (Editorial Department) May 14, 2024 Web Editor: Jing Mu