The Chinese state security ministry stated on Tuesday that China should encourage its citizens to participate in counterespionage activities, including by setting up avenues for people to report suspicious activity as well as by praising and paying them.

The Ministry of State Security, the major body overseeing foreign intelligence and anti-spying, stated in its first post on its WeChat account, which went live on Monday, that a system must be put in place that makes it "normal" for the general public to participate in counter-espionage.

The call to popularise anti-spying work among the masses follows an expansion of China's counter-espionage law that took effect in July.

The regulation, which forbids the transfer of information pertaining to national security and interests that are not specifically stated, has upset the United States because it suggests that foreign corporations operating in China could face sanctions for conducting routine business.

The revised law allows authorities carrying out an anti-espionage probe to gain access to data, electronic equipment, and information on personal property.

According to Chen Yixin, the minister of state security, political security is the highest priority in terms of national security, and the security of China's political system is the "core" of political security.

"The most fundamental is to safeguard the leadership and ruling position of the Communist Party of China and the socialist system with Chinese characteristics," Chen said.

Numerous Chinese and international citizens have been imprisoned and arrested in China in recent years on suspicion of espionage, including an executive from the Japanese pharmaceutical company Astellas Pharma in March.

Australian journalist Cheng Lei, accused by China of providing state secrets to another country, has been detained since September 2020.

China's assertion that it is threatened by spies comes as Western countries, most notably the United States, accuse China of espionage and cyberattacks—charges that Beijing has denied.

The United States itself is the "empire of hacking," a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson has said.

According to the state security ministry's WeChat post, China will need the help of its citizens to build a defense line to protect itself from espionage.

Image source: Reuters