State Council Reviews National Security Law

On April 20, the National Security Law underwent its second reading during a session of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, a group with about 200 members led by the third-ranking member of China's ruling Communist Party. The new law will cover a wide array of areas, including politics, culture, the military, the economy, information technology and the environment.

Laws are often adopted after three readings in China. To date, no full-text draft of this draft law has been released. The only available information regarding this draft law comes from news reports in official domestic media, including CCTV news and Xinhua net.

According to news reports, the draft National Security Law includes clauses that deal with "important industries and sectors deemed vital to the economy, prevention of financial risks through the development of financial infrastructure and capabilities, and a grain security system". It also deals with the establishment of "systems for cyber and information security", "improved functions of cyber and information security defense" and "safeguarding the sovereignty of national cyber space".

In November 2014, China issued its "Counterespionage Law", replacing the original National Security Law of 1993. The previous National Security Law was primarily about counterespionage, so the new Counterespionage Law can be considered a revised, renamed version. The new National Security Law, however, is a more comprehensive legislation, including such items as moral standards of socialism, and an anti-"bad-culture" clause.

Previously, on March 8, the head of the NPC Zhang Dejiang announced at an NPC meeting that the NPC would promote the establishment of a national security legal infrastructure by drafting a series of laws, including the National Security Law, Counter-Terrorism Law, Alien Non-Governmental Organizations Management Law and Network Security Law. These laws all originate from goals set by Xi Jinping's National Security Commission.