Established in 1983, the Ministry of State Security is in charge of investigating cases that jeopardize national security, such as the leaking of national secrets, defection and espionage.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, enacted the State Security Law in 1993 and drafted the law's implementation measures in 1994. The law has provided a legal basis for conducting work on national security.

Qu Xing, President of the China Institute of International Studies, said that with the development of technologies, issues pertaining to national security have become increasingly complicated, which often require coordination of multiple government departments.

Li said that the establishment of a national security committee would raise the level of coordination on national security, better combine the efforts of various departments and avoid waste of resources.

For example, when accidents disrupt maritime traffic, neither the transport department nor the energy department can deal with the situation alone. Even if one department were solely responsible, its emergency plan may be drafted to serve its own best interests, which might differ from the best overall solution to the crisis.

Commentator and military expert Yue Gang wrote on his personal micro-blog that in the past, foreign affairs department led the decision-making process when dealing with external threats, while comprehensive threats to national security require national defense, economic and public security departments to act in concert with one another.

"Without effective coordination between government departments, national security could be put into a disadvantageous position," said Shen Jiru, a senior research fellow with the Institute of World Economics and Politics under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Shen told The Beijing News that only a state-level agency could help to overcome interference from interest groups on decisions concerning national security. He said that incidents threatening national security—such as tsunamis, hurricanes, pandemics and financial crisis—require planning and coordinated reaction, which should be the task of the upcoming national security committee.

Strategic decisions

Xu said that China hasn't published its full national security strategies yet, while government policies involving national security have only appeared in chapters of different documents. He suggests the national security committee focus on detailing the strategies after it takes shape.

"In the past, the primary threat to national security was foreign invasion," Xu said. He added that non-conventional security threats, such as environmental pollution, social instability, terrorism and food safety, are attracting increasing attention.

"The national security strategies will cover military defense as well as political, economic, cultural, information and social stability," Xu clarified.

Xu stressed that clear national security strategies will help the international community understand China's long-term objectives and remove foreign countries' misunderstandings regarding China's development.

Li said that he believes operations of the national security committee will be transparent and it won't develop into a large organization.

"The national security committee would only intervene when the handling of daily affairs goes off track or a major crisis emerges," Li said.

- The United States

Since its inception in July 1947, the U.S. National Security Council's function has been to advise and assist the president on national security and foreign policies. It also serves as the president's principal arm for coordinating these policies between various government agencies. Chaired by the U.S. president, the council has members including the vice president, secretaries of state, defense and treasury, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the national security advisor.

- Russia

The Security Council of the Russian Federation is a consultative body, which helps the president work out decisions regarding national security affairs. It was established in 1992 to act as a forum for coordinating and integrating national security policies.

- Japan

The Japanese Government proposed setting up a national security council in June, moving to strengthen the prime minister's grip on foreign policy. According to the proposal, the prime minister, chief cabinet secretary, foreign and defense ministers would meet regularly to hammer out strategy, while relevant ministers would be called together to respond to emergency situations.

(Compiled by Beijing Review)