4 Reflections on Characteristics of National Security and Its Governance Principles

JIA Qingguo

[Abstract] In recent years, countries around the world have been placing greater importance on the issue of national security, increasingly recognizing its pivotal role in state governance, to which China is no exception.However, an incomprehensive understanding of national security still exists among people, which is mainly manifested in either talking about national security in general and abstract terms or just focusing on certain aspects of national security.Few discussions address the topic of national security in a systematic way and even such discussions are not as comprehensive and penetrating as expected.Effective national security governance requires comprehensive and systematic efforts to clarify the connotation and extension of the concept of national security as well as relations between national security and other important issues.Hence, principles and paths of national security governance can be explored in an efficient way.National security is an extremely rich concept with multifaceted and changing connotations.Its key factors are closely interrelated, featuring not only relativity and non-uniqueness but also subjectivity and sociality.To study in depth and grasp the essence of national security calls for a holistic thinking on security and a comprehensive look at the challenges facing us from the perspective of overall security, drawing on historical experiences and lessons learned both at home and abroad, and seriously dealing with these challenges.Therefore, choosing the right paths of national security governance should adhere to the principles of comprehensiveness and balance, paying special attention to following the trend and carrying out cooperation in relevant areas.[Keywords] a holistic approach to national security, national security, security governance, governance paths, security characteristics, security principles

[Author] JIA Qingguo, Member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC); Professor at School of International Studies, Peking University; Director of the Institute for Global Cooperation and Understanding at Peking University (Beijing, 100871).

26 Rules, Relations and Regional Security Governance: A Case Study of Collaborative Governance of Public Health in the Greater Mekong Subregion

WEI Ling and YANG Jiayi

[Abstract] When it comes to studies on regional security governance, rules, in particular international rules function as a dominant discourse or paradigm.However, rules per se do not promote governance practice or generate desired governance effects automatically.Taking advantage of the latest development in the relational theory of world politics, this paper attempts to establish an integrated “rule-relation” model of regional governance.The basic assumption is that international rules have to be activated and operationalized via the process of regional relations for the establishment of collaborative mechanisms and pragmatic policies, which contributes to the achievement of effective regional security governance.A localistic and concrete relational process is formed in an ongoing interaction among various stakeholders of regional security, which features participation and consultation of all parties concerned as well as empowerment for international rules and regional governance practices.A holistic and abstract relational process in a region epitomizes governance practice itself, where all interconnected governance-related elements work together to deal with security threats.Hence, the more dynamic the regional relational process is, the better can it activate and operationalize international rules, and the more likely is the desired outcome of regional security governance to be achieved.In this paper, the cross-border governance for preventing and controlling infectious diseases is used to serve as a case study in verifying the “rule-relation” model.It is expected that this paper can facilitate theoretical thinking about the deepening of regional security governance in the academia and make contributions to the research on public health governance.

[Keywords] rules, relations, regional security governance, the Greater Mekong Subregion, public health, joint prevention and control

[Authors] WEI Ling, Professor and Doctoral Supervisor, School of International Relations, University of International Business and Economics (Beijing, 100029); YANG Jiayi, Editor,Foreign Affairs Review, China Foreign Affairs University (Beijing, 100037).

49 A More Integrated Mechanism of “Prevention- Deterrence -Emergency Response”: New Thinking on China’s Overseas Security Supply Model

WANG Mengting and YU Xiaofeng

[Abstract] Based on a holistic approach to national security that takes protecting the people’s security as the mission and the principle of “diplomacy for the people” with consular protection as its key component, overseas security for Chinese institutions, enterprises and citizens in conflict-affected and high-risk areas has become a primary concern of China’s overseas security supply system.In the post-pandemic era, new changes in security environment, content, and threats have highlighted the gap between supply and demand for overseas security.Thus, how to improve the overseas security supply system to rise to the challenge in the post-pandemic era is becoming an increasingly urgent issue in the overall national security governance.According to the escalation process of risk/anxiety-threat/fear-crisis/panic, overseas security can be divided into three types that focus separately on prevention, deterrence and emergency response, in which government agencies, armed forces, international security companies, social organizations and overseas enterprises play different roles.On the basis of clarifying the “phases-types” of China’s overseas security and the corresponding functions of diversified supply subjects, any further improvement on China’s overseas security supply system should be guided by a holistic approach to national security, following the integrated supply model of “prevention-deterrenceemergency response” and constructing a linkage mechanism among multiple supply subjects so as to make up for the deficiencies of the existing supply system and enhance the system for the protection of Chinese nationals and interests overseas.

[Keywords] overseas security, supply model, a holistic approach to national security, China’s overseas security system

[Authors] WANG Mengting, Ph.D.Student, School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University; YU Xiaofeng, Professor, School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University and Director of Center for Non-traditional Security & Peaceful Development, Zhejiang University (Hangzhou, 310058).

73 Securitization Practices and Strategic Adjustments in U.S.Policy on Global Supply Chain

GUAN Chuanjing

[Abstract] Since President Biden took office in 2021, a series of new policies on supply chain have been initiated by the new administration that include strengthening domestic industrial build-up on the pretext of “national security”, supporting advanced manufacturing activities, advancing emerging technology research and development and developing an international supply chain with its security allies in key industries.In contrast to the Trump administration, the Biden administration further underlines the principle of paying equal attention to economic security and state security.As regards the nature of this important policy change, relevant researches have presented two different pictures: a strategic one and a functional one.This paper tends to adopt the securitization of economic policies as the analysis path to investigate the security effects of the global supply chain, clarify the types of the economy-security nexus, and further reveal the generation mechanism of “hybrid securitization practices” in the U.S.new supply chain policy.Viewed from the policy implementation standpoint, such securitization practices have taken on two distinctly new features.First, security of the supply chain has been given equal attention with the strategic competition among major countries under the impact of COVID-19 pandemic.Second, efforts have been made to rebuild the industrial chain via domestic investment and forge a networked supply chain in key industries so as to exercise economic power over its strategic rivals.While the new policies are constrained by the tensions between market forces and long-term strategic interests, they are bound to bring more uncertainties to the recovery of the global economy in the postpandemic era.

[Keywords] securitization operation, the Biden administration, global supply chain, supply chain security, economic power

[Author] GUAN Chuanjing, Associate Professor, School of International Relations, University of International Business and Economics (Beijing, 100029).

100 The Theoretical Logics and Implementation Paths of the U.S.Adjustment of Its Global Supply Chain

LI Shujun and WANG Xiaoming

[Abstract] National security has been playing an increasingly important role in the U.S.adjustment of its global supply chain ever since the Obama administration and especially after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.Viewed from the perspective of national security, the logical basis and implementation pathway for the U.S.adjustment of its global supply chain are mainly revealed in the following fact.U.S.national security puts a high premium on the values of national interests, whereas the adjustment of its global supply chain attaches great importance to the replaceability of products or services.Therefore, the “National Defense Argument” featuring trade protectionism and “selective trade protectionism” serve, in this paper, as the theoretical framework for analyzing the U.S.adjustment of its global supply chain.The “National Defense Argument” advocates restricting or prohibiting import and export of products or services with national defense significance while “selective trade protectionism” focuses on the damages done by general trade practices to the overall welfare of the U.S.and even to its national security.In a national security sense, the U.S.adjusts its global supply chain via two pathways.The first one is featured by hard measures that are closely related to the bureaucratic system and decision-making mechanism, as well as relevant legal systems and management norms, which act as a “deterrent” that forces companies in the U.S.global supply chain into submission.The second one is characterized by soft measures, which include U.S.national strategies and policy statements that are not mandatory, being buttressed by the hard measures.This analytical study is conducive to the clarification and understanding of the U.S.constantly changing economic and trade policies towards China.

[Keywords] Sino-U.S.trade and economic relations, global supply chain, national security, national defense theory, selective trade protectionism

[Authors] LI Shujun, Professor, School of International Trade and Economics, Shandong University of Finance and Economics (Ji’nan, 250014); WANG Xiaoming, Associate Professor, Institute of Finance and Economics, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (Shanghai, 200433).

130 Global Data Security Governance and Action Strategies for China’s Participation in the Era of Digital Economy

QUE Tianshu and WANG Ziyue

[Abstract] Severe data security risks are now interwoven with the complicated international situation, as a result of which countries battle for an upper hand in laying down rules as regards data security governance, giving rise to the problem of how to address global data security issues.Although international actors have realized the importance of data security governance, a unified governance framework for global data security has not been fully constructed.The current global data security governance consists merely of trade rules and other unilateral or multilateral frameworks.Hence, challenging governance problems continuously emerge at the individual, societal, economic and national security levels, which inevitably leads to different interests claims from different governance subjects as well as fragmentation of rule systems, insufficient effectiveness of mechanisms and weak governance.In the meantime, data hegemony enjoyed by a few individual countries has made it more difficult for international actors to reach a consensus on this matter.Therefore, it is absolutely imperative that global data security governance should be further underlined and strengthened by the international community.In response, China has attached greater importance to issues related to data security.However, due to its late start in the field of data governance, China still faces a series of challenges such as imperfect legislation, limited technological innovation capabilities, insufficient international cooperation and weak governance.Therefore, China needs to comprehensively and systematically analyze the major risk factors affecting data security, accurately grasp the development trend of global data security and further optimize its strategy choice in global data security governance.

[Keywords] data security, global governance, national security, personal data protection, cross-border data flow

[Authors] QUE Tianshu, Professor, School of Political Science and Public Administration, East China University of Political Science and Law; WANG Ziyue, M.A.Student, East China University of Political Science and Law (Shanghai, 200042).