The rise of a state in international politics is measured by its hard power, soft power, and the effectiveness of its intelligence services. It is surprising that the discussions on the rise of China in the 21st century have often been centered on its hard and soft powers, but barely on the Chinese intelligence mechanisms. The CIA of the United States, KGB of Russia, MI6 of Britain, Mossad of Israel, DGSE of France, Naicho of Japan, and even MJIB of Taiwan, as well as R&AW of India, are well-known names in the world of spying and espionage. Compared to these agencies, the Chinese Guoanbu has hardly been referred to in the discussions about Chinese actions in international relations. This vacuum is substantially filled by Roger Faligot’s Chinese Spies: From Chairman Mao to Xi Jinping. Guoanbu has been remarkably successful in keeping itself away from public discussions within and outside China. This should be the quintessential quality of any intelligence network. Faligot’s account is a serious and detailed work to uncover the pervasive presence of the secret state in Chinese society as well as in the world at large.
Guoanbu, which is a short form of Guojia Anquanbu meaning Ministry of State Security, was formed in the early 1980s under the supervision of Deng Xiaoping. This was the 5th modernization silently initiated by Deng along with the famous four modernizations of industry, agriculture, science and technology, and military. The Chinese state’s secret services got engulfed in the Great Proletariat Cultural Revolution of 1966 to 1976, wherein Mao’s Red Guards indulged in the ideological cleansing of the ‘capitalist road-takers’ within the Communist Party of China (CPC). Hence, after the fall of the Gang of Four, the Chinese intelligence services, like many other state institutions, were in disarray.