ABSTRACT
China's preeminent civilian intelligence collection agency is the Guojia Anquan Bu, or Ministry of State Security (MSS). It was formed in June 1983 by combining the espionage, counterintelligence, and security functions of the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) and the Investigations Department of the Chinese Communist party central committee. Prior to the reorganization China's leading intelligence service was the MPS, which has a role in counterintelligence investigations and operations due to bureaucratic infighting and its pervasive presence at the lower levels of local government. The MPS's political security section used to conduct counterespionage operations against foreign intelligence services. It was also responsible for counterintelligence investigations of citizens who had traveled overseas or maintained foreign contacts. The organizational structure of the MSS indicates that the agency runs a wide range of administrative and functional operations both domestically and overseas.
