China has responded to the rising threat of terrorism with the modernization of its security forces and increased surveillance of ethnic, political, and religious groups, as well as through developmental and legal initiatives such as the new anti-terrorism law. China’s anti-terror efforts have developed into preventive and permanent crisis management.
In politics, anti-terrorism is currently a higher priority than it has ever been before. In August 2013, the State Council established the Leading Small Group on Counter-Terrorism (反恐怖工作领导小组), which is a top-level body in charge of advising and implementing counter-terrorism work, led by the minister of Public Security. Along with the establishment of the National Security Commission (中央国家安全委员会), which is headed by Xi Jinping himself, in January 2014, this has led to the centralization and prioritization of anti-terror policymaking at the highest level.
Many changes since then have aimed to improve crisis response mechanisms, both through increased surveillance over groups seen as dangerous, specialized training for counter-terrorism troops, and streamlining the forces’ command chains.
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