National Security Law of the PRC — Full English Translation (2015)

Table of Contents

Chapter I — General Provisions

Article 1 — This Law is enacted in accordance with the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China for the purposes of safeguarding national security, preserving the political power of the people’s democratic dictatorship and the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, protecting the fundamental interests of the people, ensuring the smooth progress of reform, opening up, and the socialist modernization drive, and realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

Article 2 — National security means the state power, the sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity, the welfare of the people, the sustainable economic and social development, and other major interests of the State that are relatively free from danger and internal and external threats, and the capability of ensuring a continued state of security.

Article 3 — The national security work shall adhere to the overall national security concept, with the people’s security as the purpose, political security as the foundation, economic security as the basis, military, cultural, and social security as the safeguards, and the promotion of international security as the reliance, so as to safeguard national security in all respects, build a national security system, and follow the path of national security with Chinese characteristics.

Article 4 — The national security work shall be under the unified leadership of the Communist Party of China, and a centralized, unified, efficient, and authoritative leadership system for national security shall be established.

Article 5 — The central national security leading body shall be responsible for decision-making, deliberation, and coordination of the national security work, shall study, formulate, and guide the implementation of the national security strategy and relevant major guidelines and policies, shall coordinate major national security matters and important work, and shall advance the building of the rule of law in national security.

Article 6 — The State shall formulate and continuously improve the national security strategy, which shall comprehensively assess the international and domestic security situations and shall define the guiding principles, medium- and long-term objectives, national security policies for key areas, work tasks, and measures for the national security strategy.

Article 7 — The principles of abiding by the Constitution and laws and adhering to the socialist rule of law shall be upheld in safeguarding national security. All State organs and armed forces, all political parties and social organizations, and all enterprises, public institutions, and citizens shall abide by the Constitution, laws, and regulations relating to national security.

Article 8 — The national security work shall be coordinated with economic and social development. National security work shall be integrated into the overall plan for national economic and social development.

Article 9 — The national security work shall adhere to the principle of combining prevention with response, and combining specialized work with reliance on the masses, and shall give full play to the role of State organs and social organizations in safeguarding national security, and shall mobilize and organize the people to prevent and stop acts endangering national security in accordance with the law.

Article 10 — The national security work shall adhere to mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, and cooperation, shall actively conduct exchanges and cooperation with foreign governments and international organizations, shall fulfill international security obligations, shall promote common security, and shall safeguard world peace.

Article 11 — All citizens of the People’s Republic of China, State organs and armed forces, all political parties and people’s organizations, enterprises, public institutions, and other social organizations shall have the responsibility and obligation to safeguard national security. The sovereignty and territorial integrity of China shall be inviolable and indivisible. Safeguarding the sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity is the common obligation of all Chinese people, including compatriots in Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan.

Chapter II — Tasks of Safeguarding National Security

Article 12 — The State shall safeguard and develop the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the people, safeguard the safety of the people, create favorable conditions for survival and development and a stable working and living environment, guarantee the safety of citizens’ lives and property, and other lawful rights and interests, and enhance the people’s sense of security.

Article 13 — The State shall safeguard national political security, including upholding the leadership of the Communist Party of China, upholding and developing the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, and safeguarding the political power of the people’s democratic dictatorship.

Article 14 — The State shall safeguard national territorial security, strengthen border, coastal, and air defense, and take all necessary measures to safeguard territorial integrity and maritime rights and interests.

Article 15 — The State shall safeguard national military security, strengthen national defense and the armed forces, and build a national defense and armed forces commensurate with the status of a major country and the needs of safeguarding national security and development interests.

Article 16 — The State shall safeguard national economic security, safeguard the lifelines of the national economy and key industries, major infrastructure, major construction projects, and other major economic interests.

Article 17 — The State shall safeguard national financial security, prevent and defuse systemic financial risks, and resist external financial shocks and financial hegemony.

Article 18 — The State shall safeguard national cultural security, adhere to the advanced socialist culture, carry forward the core socialist values, prevent and resist the influence of undesirable culture, and safeguard the security of ideology.

Article 19 — The State shall safeguard national scientific and technological security, strengthen capacity for independent innovation, strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights, and enhance the capability of scientific and technological security safeguarding.

Article 20 — The State shall safeguard national network and information security, establish a network and information security safeguard system, and enhance the capability of network and information security protection.

Article 21 — The State shall reasonably utilize and protect resources and energy, effectively manage and control the development of strategic resources and energy, strengthen international cooperation in resources and energy, and comprehensively enhance the capability of emergency safeguarding.

Article 22 — The State shall safeguard national ecological security, improve the ecological and environmental protection system, increase ecological construction and environmental protection efforts, and safeguard the health and sustainable development of the ecosystem.

Article 23 — The State shall safeguard national nuclear security, adhere to the principle of giving top priority to safety, and continuously enhance the capability of nuclear security safeguarding.

Article 24 — The State shall safeguard the security of overseas interests, protect the safety and lawful rights and interests of Chinese citizens, legal persons, and other organizations abroad, and safeguard national interests in outer space, the deep sea, polar regions, and other new frontiers.

Chapter III — Systems for Safeguarding National Security

Article 25 — The State shall establish a national security review and supervision system and mechanism, and conduct national security reviews of matters affecting or potentially affecting national security, including foreign investment, specific goods and technologies, cyberspace information technology products and services, construction projects involving national security, and other major matters and activities.

Article 26 — The State shall establish a national security risk assessment and early warning system, conduct intelligence and information collection, analysis, and assessment in a timely manner based on the characteristics of national security in various fields, and issue early warnings in a timely manner.

Article 27 — The State shall establish a national security coordination mechanism for key areas, and shall coordinate and advance the work of safeguarding national security in such areas as foreign affairs, national defense, economy, culture, society, and ecology.

Article 28 — The State shall establish a system for national security review and supervision, and shall conduct national security reviews of major policies and reform measures, major projects, and other major matters.

Article 29 — The State shall establish a national security crisis management system and establish a unified leadership, collaborative linkage, orderly, and efficient national security crisis management mechanism.

Article 30 — The State shall establish an inter-departmental consultation and coordination mechanism for national security work, regularly analyze and assess the national security situation, and discuss and resolve major issues in national security work.

Chapter IV — Safeguards for National Security

Article 31 — The State shall establish a sound national security legal system, and shall formulate and amend laws and regulations in a timely manner according to the needs of safeguarding national security.

Article 32 — The State shall strengthen the construction of specialized teams for national security, equip them with necessary professional strength and facilities, and ensure their ability to perform their duties.

Article 33 — The State shall include national security education in the national education system and the training system for public servants, and shall enhance the national security awareness of all citizens.

Article 34 — The State shall encourage and support scientific and technological research relating to national security and shall enhance the capability of independent innovation in core technologies for safeguarding national security.

Article 35 — The State shall guarantee the funding required for national security work. The funding for national security shall be included in the government budget.

Chapter V — Obligations of Citizens and Organizations

Article 36 — Citizens and organizations shall abide by the relevant provisions of the Constitution and laws on national security, shall promptly report any lead on activities endangering national security, and shall truthfully provide relevant information and evidence.

Article 37 — Citizens and organizations shall keep State secrets known to them in the course of safeguarding national security, and shall not divulge or illegally provide State secrets to others.

Article 38 — Citizens and organizations shall support and assist the State organs in carrying out national security work, and shall facilitate and cooperate with the lawful performance of duties by State organs relating to national security.

Article 39 — State organs and their staff members shall, in the course of national security work and activities, strictly comply with the law, administer according to the law, and shall not exceed or abuse their authority, and shall not infringe upon the lawful rights and interests of citizens and organizations.

Article 40 — The acts of citizens and organizations in supporting and assisting national security work shall be protected by law. Where supporting and assisting national security work results in personal injury or property loss, compensation shall be made in accordance with State regulations.

Chapter VI — Supplementary Provisions

Article 41 — The specific measures for implementing this Law shall be formulated by the State Council and the Central Military Commission in accordance with their respective duties.

Article 42 — This Law shall go into effect as of the date of promulgation.