Law of the People's Republic of China on Guarding State Secrets (2024 Revision)

Law of the People's Republic of China on Guarding State Secrets (2024 Revision)

Order of the President of the People's Republic of China
(No. 20)

The Law of the People's Republic of China on Guarding State Secrets, as revised and adopted at the 8th Session of the Standing Committee of the Fourteenth National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China on February 27, 2024, is hereby issued, and shall come into force on May 1, 2024.

Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China

February 27, 2024

Law of the People's Republic of China on Guarding State Secrets

(Adopted at the 3rd Session of the Standing Committee of the Seventh National People's Congress on September 5, 1988, revised for the first time at the 14th Session of the Standing Committee of the Eleventh National People's Congress on April 29, 2010, and revised for the second time at the 8th Session of the Standing Committee of the Fourteenth National People's Congress on February 27, 2024)

Table of Contents

Chapter I General Provisions

Chapter II Scope and Classification of State Secrets

Chapter III Secrecy Rules

Chapter IV Supervision and Administration

Chapter V Legal Liability

Chapter VI Supplemental Provisions

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 This Law is enacted in accordance with the Constitution to guard state secrets, safeguard national security and interest, and guarantee the smooth advancement of reform, opening up, and socialist modernization.

Article 2 “State secrets” means matters related to national security and interest, which are determined under statutory procedures and to which the access is limited to a certain range of personnel during a given period.

Article 3 The leadership of the Communist Party of China over the work of guarding state secrets (“secrecy”) shall be adhered to. The central leading body for the secrecy work shall exercise unified leadership over the secrecy work nationwide, research, develop, and guide the implementation of national secrecy work strategies and major guidelines and policies, conduct overall coordination of major matters and important work on national secrecy, and promote the rule of law in relation to national secrecy.

Article 4 The secrecy work shall adhere to the holistic approach to national security and comply with the principles of Party administration in the secrecy work, lawful administration, proactive prevention, emphasis on key points, equal attention to technology and administration, and innovative development, so as to ensure the security of state secrets and facilitate the reasonable utilization of information resources.

Matters that shall be disclosed to the public as required by laws and administrative regulations shall be disclosed in accordance with the law.

Article 5 State secrets shall be protected by law.

All state organs, armed forces, political parties, people's organizations, enterprises, public institutions, and other social organizations and citizens shall have the obligation to guard secrets.

Any conduct endangering the security of state secrets must be subject to legal liability.

Article 6 The state secrecy administrative department shall be responsible for the secrecy work throughout the country. The local secrecy administrative departments at and above the county level shall be responsible for the secrecy work within their respective administrative regions.

Article 7 A state organ or an entity involving any state secret (“organ or entity”) shall administer its secrecy work.

A central state organ shall, within the scope of its functions, administer or guide the secrecy work within its system.

Article 8 An organ or entity shall apply a responsibility system for its secrecy work, legally set up secrecy work bodies or designate persons to take charge of the secrecy work, establish complete secrecy management rules, improve its secrecy measures, carry out secrecy publicity and education, and strengthen secrecy supervision and inspection.

Article 9 The state shall strengthen secrecy publicity and education in various forms, include secrecy education in the national education system and the education and training system for civil servants, encourage the mass media's secrecy publicity and education, popularize secrecy knowledge, publicize the rule of law on secrecy, and enhance the secrecy awareness of the entire society.

Article 10 The state shall encourage and support the research and application of secrecy science and technology, enhance the capability for independent innovation, and protect intellectual property rights in the secrecy field in accordance with the law.

Article 11 The people's governments at and above the county level shall include the secrecy work in national economic and social development plans at the same level and include required funds in the fiscal budget at the same level.

The funds needed by an organ or entity for the secrecy work shall be included in the annual budget or annual income and expenditure plan of the organ or entity.

Article 12 The state shall strengthen the cultivation of secrecy professionals and team building, and improve relevant incentive and guarantee mechanisms.

The organizations and individuals that have made outstanding contributions to the work of guarding and protecting state secrets shall be commended and rewarded in accordance with the relevant provisions issued by the state.

Chapter II Scope and Classification of State Secrets

Article 13 The following matters which relate to national security and interest and the divulgence of which may damage the national security and interest in the field of politics, economy, national defense, and foreign affairs, among others, shall be determined as state secrets:

(1) Classified matters involved in the key policy decisions on state affairs.

(2) Classified matters involved in national defense construction and armed force activities.

(3) Classified matters involved in diplomatic and foreign affairs activities and classified matters involved in the state's international obligation of secrecy.

(4) Classified matters involved in national economic and social development.

(5) Classified matters involved in science and technology.

(6) Classified matters involved in the activities of maintaining national security and investigating criminal offenses.

(7) Other classified matters as determined by the state secrecy administrative department.

A political party's classified matters that conform to the provisions of the preceding paragraph shall be classified as state secrets.

Article 14 State secrets shall be classified into three levels: top-secret, secret, and confidential.

State secrets at the top-secret level are the most important state secrets, the divulgence of which would cause extraordinarily serious damage to national security and interest; state secrets at the secret level are important state secrets, the divulgence of which would cause serious damage to national security and interest; state secrets at the confidential level are ordinary state secrets, the divulgence of which would cause damage to national security and interest.

Article 15 The specific scope of state secrets and the scope of each classification level (“scope of classified matters”) shall be determined by the state secrecy administrative department independently or jointly with the relevant central state organs.

The scope of classified matters relating to military affairs shall be prescribed by the Central Military Commission.

The scope of classified matters shall be determined under the principle of necessity and reasonableness through scientific demonstration and assessment and shall be promptly adjusted in light of changes in situations. The provisions on the scope of classified matters shall be published within a certain range.

Article 16 The principal person in charge of an organ or entity or any person designated by him or her shall be the state secret decider responsible for the determination, modification of classification, and declassification of state secrets of the organ or entity.

To determine, modify the classification of, or declassify a state secret of an organ or entity, the handling person shall put forward a specific proposal, which shall be subject to the examination and approval of the state secret decider.

Article 17 The classification levels of state secrets shall be determined according to the classification authority.

Central state organs, provincial organs, and organs or entities authorized by them may determine state secrets at the top-secret level, the secret level, and the confidential level. Organs of districted cities and organs or entities authorized by them may determine state secrets at the secret level and the confidential level. If, under special circumstances, the classification authority cannot be delegated in accordance with the aforesaid provisions, the state secrecy administrative department or the secrecy administrative department of a province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government may grant the classification authority to an organ or entity. The specific classification authority and scope of authorization shall be prescribed by the state secrecy administrative department.

If an organ or entity considers that the determination of the classification level of a state secret arising in the organ or entity falls under the classification authority of its superior organ or entity, it shall take secrecy measures first, and immediately report to the superior organ or entity with the classification authority for classification; or if there is no such superior organ or entity, it shall immediately request the business regulator or secrecy administrative department with the corresponding classification authority to conduct classification.

Public security and national security authorities shall, within their respective scope of work, determine the classification levels of state secrets according to the prescribed authority.

Article 18 Where an organ or entity executes a state secrete matter determined by its superior organ or entity or handles a state secrete matter determined by another organ or entity and needs to classify the state secret, it shall determine the classification level according to the category of the state secret matter executed or handled.

Article 19 An organ or entity shall determine the classification level of a state secret arising in the organ or entity according to the provisions on the scope of classified matters, and determine the duration of classification and scope of access to the secret at the same time; and may indicate secrecy points if conditions permit.

Article 20 The duration of classification of a state secret shall be a necessary period set according to the nature and characteristics of the relevant matter and the needs for safeguarding national security and interest. If it is impossible to determine the duration of classification, the conditions for declassification shall be determined.

Unless otherwise provided for, the duration of classification of a state secret shall not exceed 30 years at the top-secret level, 20 years at the secret level, or 10 years at the confidential level.

Organs and entities shall determine the specific duration of classification, declassification time, or declassification conditions according to their respective work needs.

If an organ or entity, for its work needs, decides to disclose to the public a matter that has been determined as a classified matter in the process of deciding or handling the relevant matters, the matter shall be deemed declassified once it is officially disclosed.

Article 21 The scope of access to a state secret shall be minimized according to work needs.

When possi......