Ministry of State Security
Agency: Ministry of State Security (aka MSS or Guóānbù )
Creation Date: July 1, 1983
Legal Act: National Intelligence Law of the People’s Republic of China, Enacted June 27, 2017
Location of Headquarters: 14 Dongchangan Avenue, Dongcheng District, Beijing.
Person in Charge: (2023) Minister Chen Yixin
Number of Employees: (classified) – unknown.
Annual Budget: (classified) - unknown.
Website: www.12339.gov.cn
Mission Statement: The security of the country through effective measures against enemy agents, spies, and counter-revolutionary activities designed to sabotage, destabilize or overthrow China's socialist system.
Motto: Serve the people (of China) firmly and purely, reassure the party, be willing to contribute, be able to fight hard and win.
Stated Principles: see Mission Statement / Motto
Collection type: HUMINT
Organization type: Civilian with access to police powers via the State Security Police
Oversight Body: State Council or Central People’s Government
Area of Operations: China / Global / Foreign
Brief History: The MSS was formed as an amalgamation of the two previous Chinese government departments, the Central Investigation Department and the Counterintelligence elements of the Ministry of Public Security. The MSS was enacted on June 20th, 1983, by the then Premier of China, Zhao Ziyang.
The MSS is divided into several Bureaus:
1st Bureau: Manages the internal affairs and Security in each Chinese province.
2nd Bureau: Foreign Intelligence Collection
3rd Bureau: Responsible for the areas that the PRC want to bring under control of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)
4th Bureau: Deals with technical aspects of intelligence / espionage
5th Bureau: Local intelligence within China / domestic intelligence
6th Bureau: Counterintelligence
7th Bureau: Surveillance and special operations
8th Bureau: Open-source intelligence
9th Bureau: Threats of infiltration to the MSS and defections
10th Bureau: State scientific and technology commission
11th Bureau: Information Technology including computers and networks
12th Bureau: Liaison under Office of Foreign Affairs
Powers: The MSS, through the National Intelligence Law (see Legal Act) has the power to conduct espionage activities within China and abroad. The State Security Police, which is embedded within the MSS, have the power to detain anyone who divulges information or impedes with any intelligence activities of the MSS.
Notable operational activities:
Foreign Influence:
On March 6th, 2023 the Canadian Prime Minister ordered investigative probes into Chinese election interference regarding the 2021 and 2019 Canadian elections.
Cyberespionage:
July 21st, 2020, the United States Department of Justice (US DOJ) indicted two Chinese hackers working with the MSS with a global computer intrusion campaign to acquire intellectual property regarding COVID-19 research.
December 20th , 2018, USDOJ indicted APT10, a hacking group working with the Tianjin State Security Bureau (a section of the MSS) for intrusion campaigns which targeted the intellectual property of more than 45 companies.
Surveillance of Dissidents abroad:
On May 18th, 2022, A US citizen and 4 Chinese Intelligence Officers were charged with spying on pro-democracy activists, human rights leaders and dissidents.