China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) is in close coordination with more than half a dozen ministries, including the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to accomplish more than one hundred intelligence-sharing tasks every year. It has an annual budget of over 10 billion RMB, serving many spheres of activity, such as counter-terrorism, economic security, and cybersecurity-intelligence support for decision-making and safety at home and abroad.
Relationship with Central Leadership
The MSS occupies a central position in China’s political system and has close ties with the central leadership. Indeed, the MSS has an independent annual budget, running to hundreds of billions of RMB for intelligence work and national security to assure information collection and technical support. Through a regular system of reporting every year, MSS will be in a position to provide the central leadership with timely data regarding domestic and international analyses so that national leaders will be made assured to grasp a real situation of the complicated security circumstances in an accurate and timely light.
MSS’s intelligence operation and policy recommendations have been consistent with the National Security Commission‘s strategic direction. Since the founding of the commission in 2014, MSS rapidly readjusted its intelligence strategy, directing principal intelligence resources to the assessment of security threats in countries along the Belt and Road. International intelligence investment was increased by about 20%, hence enhancing policy security.
There is an internal central liaison group within MSS to achieve the purpose of fast and accurate transmission of information. In particular, most intelligence transmission and decision-making by the MSS can be completed in 24 hours, which is especially important in dealing with urgent incidents. In order to ensure information security, MSS adopts multilayer encryption technology and has independently set up a communication network; at least twice a year, it updates the encryption standard in keeping with the central leadership’s stress on information security in the MSS.
The Central leadership adjusts the work emphasis of the MSS from time to time. For instance, in the area of economic policy, under the leadership’s guidance, over 10% of intelligence resources have been invested in monitoring domestic economic security. In its reporting, multi-dimensional quantitative data are usually prepared by the MSS for policy support, such as risk level assessment of domestic and international economic threats, thus providing direct data support for central decision-making.
Internal Structure
The MSS is internally composed of several key departments, each responsible for different functions and activities with the intent of accomplishing tasks assigned, such as intelligence gathering, surveillance, and counter-espionage, in the most efficient manner possible. Its organizational structure calls for a highly specialized division of labor and an advanced form of hierarchical management. Some of the major core departments include the Intelligence Collection Bureau, Technical Support Bureau, Counter-Espionage Bureau, and International Affairs Bureau. Publicly available data shows that each core department employs hundreds, if not thousands, of full-time intelligence officers. Their training is usually very strict, covering everything from intelligence analysis to information technology.
The Technical Support Bureau operates internal information systems, including equipment for data encryption and information transmission. The annual maintenance cost runs into hundreds of millions of RMB. This type of high investment can guarantee the MSS technological advantage: according to reports, in dealing with encrypted information, it is over 20% ahead of the industrial standard.
The other important part of the MSS’s inner structure is the division called the Special Operations Division, which undertakes special tasks both domestically and internationally. In 2017, the domestic media reported that MSS’s Special Operations Division had managed a number of cross-border intelligence missions within a year, with over 50% involving counter-espionage actions. This division normally works closely in coordination with the International Affairs Bureau for the smooth conduct of transnational missions. MSS attains high efficiency in inter-departmental cooperation; every task moves along strictly according to the timeline so that all orders are completed within the stipulated time.
The annual budget for MSS is over 10 billion RMB, and about 30% of that is exclusively used in training personnel and renewing technology. This puts the average cost of training each intelligence officer in hundreds of thousands of RMB to provide him with the latest technical capabilities to carry out such complicated work tasks. **In fact, all this huge investment is a translation of the talent’s skill into professionalism with this agency-MSS-earning formidable competitiveness in the intelligence field.
The MSS maintains an independent information network and several intelligence databases. All the data systems are managed by the Information Technology Department and updated every quarter. Each database holds hundreds of thousands of records that not only act as internal MSS references but also support relevant decision-making departments. In respect of data security considerations, MSS uses dedicated lines for data transmission. The maintenance and update costs are increasing annually by about 5% to keep up with the emerging needs in security.
Intelligence Collection System
The MSS intelligence collection structure is a multi-level, compartmentalized organization for the protection of interests and security. Intelligence collection depends on Human Intelligence (HUMINT), Technical Intelligence (TECHINT), and Open Source Intelligence (OSINT), where operations and standards set in each category guarantee the depth and width of the work of intelligence collection. In response to various security needs brought about by the complicated international situation, there has been more than a 30% increase in the intelligence network of the MSS over the last decade, covering everything from overseas risk assessments to domestic security monitoring.
The MSS invests billions of RMB in training every year, and one training cycle for MSS members normally takes three to six months. Intelligence members normally have professional training in language, disguise, and psychology in order to deal with different complex environments. In the overseas intelligence operation in 2018, the MSS sent more than 30 full-time staff who, within half a year, completed the intelligence gathering and analysis in the targeted area, securing the country’s strategic priority in diplomacy.
Technical intelligence focuses on signals, communications, and cyber intelligence. The technical support department of MSS is equipped with advanced devices valued at over 5 million RMB each, thus supporting the efficient collection and transmission of data even in a complex environment. MSS captures satellite signals by satellite and sends out information adopting multilayer encryption technology; they process hundreds of TBs of data every day. Its speed of transmitting data is leading among the domestic and international best intelligence agencies.
In recent years, Open Source Intelligence OSINT has become a focal point for MSS. Every day, through data analysis of public data, the MSS collects tens of millions of lines screening for potential risk information. For instance, in 2020, MSS analyzed millions of social media and news website data points by using big data technology to make early warnings for dozens of events that may affect social stability. This real-time data monitoring significantly enhanced MSS’s speed in response to sudden incidents that happened inside and outside the country, controlling many sudden risks effectively.
Intelligence collection efficiency of MSS is subject to severe assessment: Quantification occurs quarterly based on metrics such as completion cycle and accuracy of collection. According to relevant industry reports, MSS ensures an accuracy rate of more than 95% for its intelligence, thereby playing a critical role in international and domestic affairs. It enables the response time for sudden events in certain regions to be less than 24 hours, which ensures that the central leadership is updated on time and can make decisions based on this timely information.
Collaboration with Other Ministries
The MSS works in close coordination with many other ministries to ensure the due execution of national security strategies. This covers regular intelligence sharing and resource integration across various departments, as well as cross-department responses to emergencies. In recent years, MSS has been cooperating with the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs gradually. Compared to 2015, there are about 40% more annual tasks conducted together by three departments, which greatly improves the efficiency of emergency response.
The MSS works in close coordination with the Ministry of Public Security, establishing an effective counter-terrorism intelligence-sharing mechanism. MSS and the Ministry of Public Security jointly handle more than half of the cases related to counter-terrorism. In 2019, when there was a warning about a cross-border terrorist organization, MSS and the Ministry of Public Security finished information sharing risk assessment and deployment of actions in only 72 hours and deterred the potential threat.
In the work of economic intelligence, MSS has more coordination with the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Commerce based on data exchange and policy support. Provided by the Ministry of Finance, it collects tens of thousands of economic information every month, including foreign investment trends, ups and downs of the market, import-export situation, and so on. **All the data support enables MSS to form accurate judgments about the international economic situation and gives timely intelligence support to the central economic policies.
MSS and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology had built the national cybersecurity defense system, monitoring millions of cyberattacks each year. The MSS and MIIT shared technique standards and emergency plans during their cybersecurity defense work as the threats in cyberspace have become increasingly complicated. Secondly, single units of high-power processing network protection equipment costing tens of millions of RMB have been put into place through joint investment. The two departments conduct quarterly joint rehearsals to test their capabilities in responding to emergencies for the purpose of attaining seamless cooperation during large-scale cyberattacks.
MSS intelligence analysis interfaces critically with the Ministry of Transport and the National Development and Reform Commission. During big holidays, the MSS works together with the Ministry of Transport to have joint monitoring of people and logistics to secure key domestic points. The MSS, in relevant areas, provides real-time intelligence that lets transport departments make timely allocations to ensure efficiency and safety.
International Cooperation and Diplomatic Functions
The Ministry of State Security (MSS) has quickened its pace of international cooperation with other countries in its response to globalization through intelligence sharing, counter-terrorism, and cybersecurity. Such collaboration not only enhances the MSS’s international capability to gather intelligence but also strengthens China’s discourse in global security affairs. The MSS participates in more than 100 international conferences and cooperation projects annually, ranging from traditional counter-terrorism issues to newly emerging ones such as cybersecurity and cross-border crime.
It established long-term mechanisms of intelligence sharing relevant to counter-terrorism cooperation with a number of countries. Resource Allocation to projects of intelligence cooperation along the Belt and Road exceeds 40% of the international cooperation budget of MSS. Jointly conducting a counter-terrorism action in 2019, MSS and security departments of five Central Asian countries broke up the multi-country terrorist organization in two months.
In the face of burgeoning cyber threats, MSS actively cooperates with the US and Russian intelligence agencies in cybersecurity. It jointly monitors tens of thousands of cyberattack incidents annually and discusses technical standards for data protection and emergency response. In 2021, MSS, along with the Russian Federal Security Service, participated in a large-scale cyber warfare simulation where hundreds of high-performance servers and thousands of TBs of storage were deployed to simulate data for testing and perfecting defenses against complex cyberattacks.
MSS also discharges some key non-traditional diplomatic functions, which have become increasingly important in the protection of Chinese interests and nationals abroad. For example, in 2020, the MSS analyzed the security situation in several African countries and provided over 500 pages of detailed reports, which are crucial references for Chinese companies with respect to investment decisions and personnel security.
MSS participates in several international data-sharing platforms; it is included in the Interpol global database. With access to the latter, MSS can get current information on international crime and terrorist groups operating millions of data points each year. Such timely access to information provides speed and accuracy to MSS’s intelligence gathering, making it capable of attaining a competitive information advantage internationally.
The international cooperation of the MSS also encompasses law enforcement mutual assistance actions with several countries. In 2022, the MSS supported law enforcement authorities in a European country in dismantling a case of cross-border cyber fraud involving several billion euros. MSS guaranteed the provision of important intelligence leads which helped to lock up the location of the key suspect and joined in some technical equipment arrangement of the case.