China should encourage its citizens to participate in counter-espionage work, including creating channels for individuals to report suspicious activities, giving credits to and rewarding them, the State Security Ministry said on Tuesday.

A system must be created to make it “normal” for the masses to participate in counter-espionage efforts, the Ministry of State Security, the main agency overseeing foreign intelligence and counter-espionage, wrote in its first post on its WeChat account, which went live on Monday.

The call to popularize the counter-espionage project to the masses follows the expansion of China’s counter-espionage law that took effect in July.

The law, which prohibits the transfer of information related to national security and interests that does not specify, has alarmed the United States, which said that foreign companies in China could be penalized for engaging in regular business.

The revised law allows authorities conducting counter-espionage investigations to access data, electronic equipment, and information on personal property.

Civil security is the top priority of national security and the “core” of civil security is the security of China’s political system, State Security Minister, Chen Yixin, wrote in an article in a Chinese law journal in July.

Also read: China | Willing to mediate to reach an Israeli – Palestinian agreement

The most fundamental aspect is to safeguard the leadership and governing position of the Chinese Communist Party and the socialist system with Chinese characteristics, Chen said.

In recent years, China has arrested and detained dozens of Chinese and foreign nationals on suspicion of espionage, including an executive of the Japanese drug manufacturer Astellas Pharma in March.

Australian journalist Cheng Lei, who is accused by China of providing state secrets to another country, has been detained since September 2020.

China’s declaration that it is threatened by spies comes as Western nations, led by the United States, accuse China of espionage and cyber attacks, a charge Beijing has denied.

The United States itself is the “hacking empire,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

Also read: China | Reacts to opening of NATO offices in Japan