What’s new: Chinese President Xi Jinping called for a deep understanding of the complex and grave national security situation and a speedup of the modernization of China’s national security system and capabilities.
Xi made the remarks Tuesday in a national security commission meeting with other top leaders.
The president said the complexity of national security issues facing China increased significantly, according to state media CCTV. China should have strategic confidence in victory and fully recognize its own advantages and favorable conditions, Xi said.
The meeting approved documents including opinions on speeding up the construction of a monitoring and early warning system for national security risks and opinions on comprehensively strengthening national security education.
The background: Xi didn’t address any specific national security issues, but China’s recent restrictions on the technology sector shows heightened scrutiny of threats to national security.
Beijing recently warned operators of key infrastructure against buying products from U.S. memory chipmaker Micron Technology Inc., saying it found “relatively serious” cybersecurity risks in Micron products sold in China. The components caused “significant security risks to our critical information infrastructure supply chain,” which would affect national security, according to the statement from the Cyberspace Administration of China.
The technology sector has become a key battlefield over national security between the two largest economies as the U.S. blacklisted Chinese tech enterprises.
Contact reporter Denise Jia (huijuanjia@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (bob.simison@caixin.com)
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