Ministry of State Security of the People's Republic of China

The Ministry of State Security (MSS) is the principal civilian intelligence and security service of the People's Republic of China, responsible for foreign intelligence, counterintelligence, covert action, and the political security of the Chinese Communist Party. One of the largest and most secretive intelligence agencies in the world, it maintains powerful semi-autonomous branches in every province and city and administers the country's secret police, the State Security Police. The ministry is headquartered at Yidongyuan, a large compound in Beijing's Haidian district.