The fresh legislation on national security is a key step for China to build up its security system and deal with new security problems, legal and security experts said.

On Wednesday, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, adopted a new national security law, which covers a wide spectrum of topics including defense, finance, science and technology, culture and religion.

The new law, which will take effect when signed by President Xi Jinping, also includes a clause on cyberspace sovereignty and security.

Speaking to reporters at a news conference, Zheng Shuna, with the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee, said the law was crucial in the face of "ever-growing security challenges".

"We are under dual pressures. ... Externally, the country must defend its sovereignty, security and development interests, and internally, it must also maintain political security and social stability," Zheng said.

The country therefore needs overarching legislation that can help it deal with national security threats and risks, she said.

China's first National Security Law took effect in 1993 and primarily regulated the work of the national security agencies, whose major duty is counterespionage. In November, it was renamed the Counterespionage Law.

The new law defines national security as a condition in which a country's government, sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity, population, economy and society are relatively safe and not subject to internal and external threats. It also includes the capacity to sustain such a secure condition.

One key element of the new law is a clause on cyberspace sovereignty. China will make core Internet and information technologies, infrastructure as well as information systems and data in key sectors "secure and controllable", it states.

Zheng described cyberspace sovereignty as the embodiment and extension of national sovereignty in cyberspace, adding that the Internet is a key national infrastructure.

"Internet space within the territories of the People's Republic of China is subject to the country's sovereignty," she said.

Xiao Fengcheng, a law professor at China University of Political Science and Law, referred to the new law as "necessary and timely".

"We are facing a series of security problems in need of solutions and suffering some security loopholes that have caused damage," Xiao said.

China, as a victim of online threats, is a solid defender of cybersecurity, and the law has provided a legal basis to fight online attacks, Xiao said.

The United States was the biggest attacker of China's network, according to the National Computer Network Emergency Response Technical Team. The team said that from March 19 to May 18 last year, 2,077 servers in the US controlled 1.18 million computers in China via Trojan viruses or robot networks.

Li Zhong, director of the legal strategy research department at the Institute of Law of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that highlighting Web security in the law shows that the Chinese leadership has realized the urgency of solving problems in the field.

Xinhua contributed to this story.

caoyin@chinadaily.com.cn