China's Quest for Security: Analysing the Impact of National Security on Chinese Legislation with a Focus on the Revised "Counterespionage Law of the People’s Republic of China"

Abstract

The present thesis examines the evolution of the concept of national security in China, mainly focusing on how China’s commitment to safeguarding its national interests has affected the country’s policies and legal system under Xi Jinping's overall national security framework. It develops in three chapters. The first chapter provides a general definition of national security and discusses the shift from traditional to non-traditional security threats by giving an overview of the Chinese geopolitical context, with an emphasis on contemporary politics. The analysis includes an examination of Xi Jinping's “overall national security” and how it has helped China become a national security state. The second chapter delves into the national security’s legal and institutional support system in China, in particular discussing the expansion of the Chinese legal corpus by analyzing various national security-related laws issued under Xi Jinping’s leadership. The third chapter consists of an analysis of the revised Counterespionage Law, issued in 2023, providing one of the latest examples of how China’s quest for “comprehensive national security”, and its fight against perceived external threats, encompass all aspects of China’s governance and policy-making, at the cost of posing a risk to international business and relations.