National biosecurity refers to the ability of a country (or region) to avoid the danger caused by the entry and exit of controlled organisms through ports of entry and exit, and to maintain such security. It is a non-traditional security, an important part of the national security system, and a common issue faced by all countries in the world. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that "biosecurity has become one of the major threats to the survival and development of the world and all mankind". Telling the story of China's national biosecurity to the world is conducive to expanding social publicity, promoting international co-governance, and contributing China's wisdom to building a community of life on earth.
Defending the homeland of the earth together demonstrates the responsibility of a major country
In the context of globalization, the country is not only the geographical boundary of the country, but also carries the important mission of maintaining ecological balance and preventing biological risks. The story of China's national biosecurity aims to reveal the core values and far-reaching significance of this field, and arouse the attention and action of the international community.
Responding to global concerns. National biosecurity risks can cause damage to a country's people's health, flora and fauna, agricultural production, environmental resources, etc., and then affect political, economic, and social stability. In the context of economic globalization, the world's population of about 8 billion people is staggering in and out of the country every year, and the risks and hidden dangers are prominent. As the world's second largest economy and the largest country in trade in goods, the mainland has effectively built a strong national biosecurity defense line on the basis of the continuous improvement of its level of opening up to the outside world, providing a useful reference for global biosecurity prevention and control.
Assume international responsibility. The national biosecurity prevention and control capacity of countries around the world is uneven. As a responsible major country, China should tell the story of China's national biosecurity, build a new consensus on global biosecurity governance, advocate the management and coordination of animal and plant disease epidemics and cross-border transmission of harmful organisms worldwide, help other countries improve the technical level of port inspection and quarantine technology and quarantine treatment, as well as the ability to prevent and control animal and plant diseases, promote the formulation and revision of international rules and standards for national biosecurity, and promote the establishment of fair, just, and Scientific and rational international rules on biosecurity, and work with countries around the world to address the global issue of biosecurity.
Channeling public participation. In the face of the increasingly complex and severe global biosecurity situation, no country or nation can deal with it alone and be immune to it, and it is necessary to widely mobilize people from all countries and all walks of life to participate in the action of safeguarding national biosecurity. It is necessary to tell the story of China's national biosecurity, widely publicize the relevant systems and regulations of the mainland to the public at home and abroad, help the public improve their awareness of biosecurity risks, enhance their legal awareness and behavioral awareness, and guide them to participate in the protection of national biosecurity.
The multi-ecological picture scroll interprets the national defense line
The story of China's national biosecurity is an ecological narrative that integrates science and technology, rule of law, and humanity, showing our exploration, innovation and contribution in the field of biosecurity.
Proven Chinese experience. Since the reform and opening up, the mainland's national biosecurity prevention and control system has been continuously strengthened. The laws and regulations have been continuously improved, and a quarantine system for animals and plants entering and leaving the country has been formed, with the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Quarantine of Animals and Plants Entering and Leaving the Country and its implementation regulations as the backbone, covering more than 10 laws and regulations and more than 400 departmental rules. A three-dimensional management system has been gradually established, and the customs, agriculture, commerce, transportation and other departments have worked closely together to establish nine measures, including "overseas, port, and domestic", and "quarantine access" and "overseas pre-inspection" for import and export goods, entry and exit personnel, international mail express, and international means of transportation. During the "13th Five-Year Plan" period, the customs intercepted a total of 8,858 kinds of plant pests and 3.6 million times at the port, and in 2023, the customs detected 49 kinds of infectious diseases such as new crown, monkeypox, and cholera, 31,000 cases, 75,000 kinds of quarantine pests, and 296 kinds of "exotic pets" and 44,000 animals were intercepted, which effectively guaranteed the safety of domestic agricultural production, ecological environment and people's lives and health.
The Chinese concept of international co-governance. The mainland actively promotes international global governance of biosecurity. Up to now, China has established customs inspection and quarantine cooperation with more than 170 countries and regions, signed nearly 400 international cooperation documents on access to agricultural products and food, and actively participated in the activities of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) and relevant regional organizations, and achieved positive results in jointly safeguarding national biosecurity. Through participating in exchanges and seminars of international organizations, dialogue on customs inspection and quarantine cooperation, tripartite exchanges and dialogues among customs, enterprises and academia, and international cooperation and training, the mainland participates in the formulation of international standards and rules for inspection and quarantine, and promotes the joint recognition of the concept of biosecurity governance, the improvement of international rules, and the implementation of whole-process supervision with the countries of the Belt and Road Initiative and other regions. Problems and risks are handled together, a new process of all-round pragmatic cooperation in biosecurity governance has been started, international cooperation in the prevention and control of animal and plant diseases has been strengthened, mechanisms for monitoring and reporting overseas epidemics have been established, and regulatory requirements and models for the inspection of imported commodities have been optimized.
China's plan to follow the mass line. In the work of protecting national biosecurity, the mainland has thoroughly implemented the mass line, not only as a conceptual guide, but also into practical action strategies and mechanism construction, forming a unique Chinese plan, which has achieved remarkable results and has global demonstration value. First of all, through cooperation with the media and educational institutions, the use of diversified forms of popular science to popularize biosecurity knowledge among the whole people, and carry out several themed activities such as "national biosecurity into campuses, communities, enterprises, and ports" in various forms and rich content every year, and also widely carry out legal popularization and education through online platforms such as "cloud popularization of law" and "cloud classroom", as well as live broadcasts, official websites, and legal publicity and education columns, to improve the public's national biosecurity literacy. Second, we should innovate public participation mechanisms, set up reporting platforms, and encourage volunteer service, so that the public can become a new force in biosafety supervision and protection. Finally, it is necessary to build a pattern of joint participation of multiple entities such as governments, enterprises, scientific research institutions, and non-governmental organizations, so as to form a strong synergy to protect national biosecurity. In addition, in the process of formulating relevant policies, we pay attention to soliciting public opinions to ensure that the policies are scientific and inclusive, and continue to optimize the management system. This Chinese plan demonstrates the strong vitality of the mass line in protecting biosecurity in mainland China, and provides valuable experience and inspiration for global biosecurity governance.
Cross-cultural communication and mutual learning spread the wisdom of national biosecurity
In order for China's national biosecurity story to be deeply rooted and resonant, it is necessary to adopt diversified narrative methods and communication strategies to ensure that the story is both professional and easy to understand and accept, so as to have a broad and positive impact on the world.
Highlight achievements and clarify connotations. The first is to summarize the achievements made by the mainland in strengthening the construction of the national biosecurity risk prevention and control and governance system. Speak with simple and vivid facts and cases, systematically introduce the mainland's efforts to prevent national biosecurity, constantly adapt to the requirements of practice and development, innovate and improve relevant systems, mechanisms, laws and regulations, and realize the outstanding achievements of the modern governance pattern of national biosecurity in more than 300 ports open to the outside world. The second is to explain in depth the institutional advantages of the mainland's national biosecurity governance system. By telling facts, emotions and reasoning, explain why China's national biosecurity system works, and make it clear that under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the customs, health, agriculture, public security and other departments, as well as various organizations, enterprises and the masses have adhered to the national game of chess, concentrated their efforts on major things, and achieved important victories in the face of major risks and challenges. The third is to grasp the key points of propaganda and promote effective communication. It is necessary to adhere to the correct concept of justice and interests, and from the perspective of safeguarding national interests and security, we should look for key issues that can reflect the country's excellent governance capacity. Grasp the best time for the dissemination of issues, find the key points and highlights of telling the story of national biosecurity at the time node of the occurrence of public health emergencies of international concern, and enhance the mainland's international institutional discourse and public opinion discourse. It is necessary to judge the situation and assess the situation, do not talk nonsense about national security and state secrets, and do a good job in guiding public opinion.
Look at the world and take the initiative. The first is to expand diversified publicity channels. Actively make use of international conferences such as the United Nations Biodiversity Conference and the World Health Assembly, as well as multilateral frameworks such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and the International Plant Protection Convention, to release the results and initiatives of the continent to the world to prevent national biosecurity risks. Through diversified channels such as international mainstream media, professional journals, and online social platforms, we will give full play to the media characteristics of the Internet, such as being concise and short, instant interaction, and rapid dissemination, and publish authoritative information, expert opinions, and in-depth reports, so as to expand the international influence of China's national biosecurity stories. The second is to actively share and promote advanced ideas and experiences. Actively initiate or participate in international biosecurity seminars, technical training, joint drills and other activities, share China's successful experience and best practices in biosecurity, and promote the formulation and improvement of international biosecurity standards and norms. Through foreign aid projects, technical assistance, expert exchanges, etc., we will support other developing countries in improving their national biosecurity capabilities and jointly building a global biosecurity barrier.
Cultivating talents is the foundation and the whole people participate. The first is to cultivate a group of comprehensive talents with excellent professional quality. Actively forge a team of high-quality talents who not only understand the theories, systems, systems and technologies of national biosecurity, but also understand the country, ethnicity, and cultural differences of foreign audiences, as well as their concerns, interests, and values, as well as the rules of news dissemination and external reporting, and have high foreign language proficiency and strong translation skills. The second is to integrate non-governmental propaganda forces. The masses have the most right to speak on whether the national biosecurity prevention and control work is effective and whether the publicity work is in place. Therefore, telling the story of national biosecurity is not only the job of the government, but also the need for the masses to show up and speak. It is necessary to integrate the power of official and non-governmental propaganda to tell the foreign public more directly and widely about the sense of gain, security and satisfaction of the people at home, so that the story can be more easily empathetic.
(The authors are respectively the Director of the Research Center and Secretary of the Party Committee of the General Administration of Customs, and an assistant researcher of the Basic Theory Research Department of Customs)