'Prepare for worst scenarios': China Xi Jinping directs top officials to modernize national security system
Jinping's critical remarks came amid the fact it has been facing external threats from the West over a series of issues including its closeness with Russia amid the relentless war against Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific issue.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has called on his top national security officials to prepare themselves for “worst case” scenarios amid his party's efforts to oppose any sensed interior or exterior threats. According to a report by the Chinese state news agency Xinhua, Jinping's critical remarks came amid the fact it has been facing external threats from the West over a series of issues including its closeness with Russia amid the relentless war against Ukraine.
Besides, the West has been trying to coroner China citing its increasing footprints in the Indo-Pacific region. "The complexity and difficulty of the national security issues we now face have increased significantly," CNN quoted Xi as saying on Tuesday at a meeting of the party’s National Security Commission.
Jinping ordered to modernize early security risk warning system
“We must adhere to bottom-line thinking and worst-case-scenario thinking, and get ready to undergo the major tests of high winds and rough waves, and even perilous, stormy seas,” added the Chinese President. Calling the current international setting "complex and grave", he directed the officials to gear up for the modernization of its national security system and capabilities. The Chinese President underscored that the country should focus on effective combat techniques.
Besides, he also ordered his top officials to construct a national security risk monitoring and early warning system in order to effectively monitor the forthcoming challenges. Also, he voiced to enhance national security education and improve the management of data and artificial intelligence security.
During the meeting, Jinping expanded the concept of national security and emphasised covering everything from politics, economy, defence, culture and ecology to cyberspace. It should be extended from the deep sea and the polar regions to space, as well as big data and artificial intelligence, CNN reported.
US-China tension
Notably, both China and the US have been at loggerheads ever since the then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan-- an island nation which Beijing claims as its own. Her visit came despite repeated warnings from Xi Jinping and his top officials.
Although it was expected that the visit of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken would cool down the tension between the two largest economies but a last-moment goof-up by alleged Chinese spy balloons had ruined all the speculations. This prompted the US to cancel the much-awaited trip of Blinken. At that time, the Biden administration had said it would send its top official but did not mention the timings.