To accurately grasp the new characteristics and trends in national security, on 15 April 2014, President Xi Jinping introduced at the 1st general meeting of the National Security Commission the Holistic View of National Security.

The Holistic View of National Security is a concept with Chinese characteristics. Its main concept and contents can be summed up as one overall goal, five essential elements, five pairs of relationships and 20 major fields.

Overall Goal

The Holistic View of National Security pursues the overall goal of safeguarding the national security of the People’s Republic of China by forging a path to national security with Chinese characteristics.

Five Essential Elements

Aimed at ensuring the continuous rise of the Chinese nation, the five major elements of national security include:

1. Taking the people’s security as the ultimate goal

2. Achieving political security as the fundamental task

3. Regarding economic security as the foundation

4. With military, science and technology, cultural and public security as means of guarantee

5. Promoting international security

Five Pairs of Relationships

Attaching equal importance to:

1. Attaching importance to external security And equal importance to internal security

2. Attaching importance to homeland security And equal importance to the people's security

3. Attaching importance to traditional security And equal importance to non-traditional security

4. Attaching importance to development And equal importance to security

5. Attaching importance to our own security And equal importance to common security

Major Fields of National Security

The Holistic View of National Security stresses the need to construe and put into practice national security from a macro perspective and in a holistic manner. It encompasses 20 major fields, including political security, military security, homeland security, economic security, financial security, cultural security, public security, science and technology security, cyber security, food security, ecological security, resource security, nuclear security, overseas interests security, and some emerging fields like outer space security, deep sea security, polar security, biosecurity, artificial intelligence security, and data security.