China’s Implementing Regulations of the Law on Guarding State Secrets

The newly revised Law of the People’s Republic of China on Guarding State Secrets (hereinafter referred to as the Secrets Law) came into effect on May 1, 2024. The Implementing Regulations of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Guarding State Secrets (hereinafter referred to as the Implementing Regulations), following closely, were revised and announced to take effect on September 1, 2024.
The revised Secrets Law and Implementing Regulations expand and refine the scope of state secrets, strengthen the management of confidential information, standardize the procedures for declassifying secrets, increase penalties for leakage, and improve supervision and inspection mechanisms, thereby laying a solid foundation for effective implementation of secrecy work. This article outlines and interprets key provisions of the Secrets Law and Implementing Regulations.
1.	Introduction of a special provision on the leadership of the Communist Party in respect of secrecy work
Article 3 of the Secrets Law incorporates the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) over secrecy work into law, enhancing the CPC’s leadership system in secrecy work to better leverage its political and organizational advantages.
Furthermore, Article 3 of the Implementing Regulations emphasizes the adherence to and strengthening of the CPC’s leadership in secrecy work, establishing a system and mechanism for CPC-led secrecy management. It clarifies the specific responsibilities of central and local secrecy leadership bodies, providing institutional guarantees for implementing CPC and national secrecy strategies and major policy measures, thereby enhancing political and organizational advantages.
2.	Refinement and Improvement of Classified Information Management System
Articles 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 24, and 25 of the Secrets Law enhance the comprehensiveness and operational feasibility of classified and declassified systems. The Secrets Law also specify that the determination of matters requiring classification should follow principles of necessity and reasonableness, undergo scientific assessment, and enhance the scientific accuracy of classification work from the outset. Moreover, annual audits are mandated to prompt timely review of classified information, facilitating timely declassification.
Correspondingly, Articles 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 of the Implementing Regulations specify requirements for the revision of the list of state secrets, ensuring precision and scientific rigor in classification work. They delineate the scope and specific responsibilities of personnel responsible for classification, clarify specific circumstances necessitating derivative classification, and regulate such actions to effectively mitigate excessive and indiscriminate classification.
3.	Enhancement of Support for Secrecy Scientific and Technological Innovation and Protection Systems
Articles 10, 30, 31, and 32 of the Secrets Law encourage and support secrecy scientific and technological research and applications, emphasizing the enhancement of independent innovation capabilities. This aims to stimulate vitality in secrecy technology innovation, accelerate high-level self-sufficiency in secrecy science and technology, and enhance the resistance capabilities of secrecy systems. Additionally, new provisions were added concerning the comprehensive management and risk assessment of confidential information systems, specifying requirements for security products and technical equipment used to protect state secrets.
Similarly, Articles 10, 30, 34, 35, 36, 37, and 38 of the Implementing Regulations underscore the importance of secrecy scientific and technological innovation, encouraging and supporting research and applications in secrecy science and technology. The Implementing Regulations provides that related departments should commend and reward organizations and individuals achieving significant results or notable accomplishments in secrecy scientific and technological research and development. Moreover, the Implementing Regulations emphasize the management of information systems and equipment, detailing responsibilities for operation, maintenance, and usage management, and specify obligations of units engaged in developing secrecy products and technical equipment.
4.	Improvement of Network Information and Data Secrecy Management Systems
Articles 33, 34, 35, and 36 of the Secrets Law strengthen the protection and management of network information secrecy. It stipulates compliance with national secrecy regulations at all stages of network information production and dissemination, requiring network operators to cooperate with relevant departments in investigating suspected leaks of state secrets. Besides, it balances information disclosure with secrecy requirements, advocating lawful secrecy, lawful disclosure, and appropriate management, enhancing coordination with the Data Security Law, and specifying principles for managing secretive data post-aggregation and correlation.
Conversely, Articles 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, and 44 of the Implementing Regulations similarly emphasize strengthened management of network usage secrecy, obliging network operators to assist in investigating and alerting lawfully executed secrecy violations and precautionary event scrutiny. Implementing Regulations also refine data secrecy management systems, reinforcing responsibilities of agencies and units for safeguarding secretive data security, specifying comprehensive management requirements for secretive data to effectively preempt risks of leakage under big data conditions and solidify secrecy defenses.
5.	Enhancement of Classified Personnel Management Systems
Article 46 of the Secrets Law focuses on managing classified personnel, addressing long-standing issues regarding the risk of secrecy breaches upon conclusion of classified personnel decryption periods. It outlines norms for behavior after decryption periods conclude and specifies entities and procedures for implementing corresponding disposal measures.
Articles 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, and 55 of the Implementing Regulations establish a “full lifecycle” management system for classified personnel, detailing secrecy review before and periodic review during their tenure, secrecy management and education training while in service, procedures and requirements upon departure from service, and management during decryption periods. These articles elaborate on protections for classified personnel rights, mandating the establishment of robust systems for safeguarding classified personnel rights.
6.	Refinement of Supervision and Management Systems
Articles 49, 51, 52, 55, and 56 of the Secrets Law introduce multiple law enforcement measures such as lawful inspection, inquiry, recording, registration, and secrecy technology detection. They establish mechanisms for risk assessment, monitoring, early warning, emergency response, and information dissemination to promptly identify and eliminate secrecy risks, effectively preventing occurrences of secrecy breaches.
Conversely, Articles 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 63, 64, and 65 of the Implementing Regulations specify principles for establishing national, organizational, and corporate secrecy standards, refining and enhancing the scope and norms of secrecy inspections, improving classification appraisal systems, delineating hierarchical acceptance mechanisms, and clarifying coordination and reporting requirements between secrecy administrative management departments and other relevant departments.
Conclusion
The latest revisions to the Secrets Law and its Implementing Regulations introduce improvements across various domains to accommodate the development of modern information technology and national security needs. These measures not only enhance the protection level of state secrets but also strengthen measures against secrecy breaches, ensuring the security and stability of state secrets.”