(Bloomberg) -- China’s spy agency will work to prevent financial sector risks from jeopardizing the country’s national security, and pledged to crack down on violations and to resist attempts by other nations to use finance as a weapon.

“State security organs should attach greater importance to preventing and defusing financial risks and actively participate in the development of national security systems in the economy, finance and other areas,” the Ministry of State Security said in a post on WeChat on Thursday. The ministry promised to “crack down on and punish criminal activities in the financial sector which endanger national security.”

The statement came two days after an important central government meeting on the economy, which vowed to set up a long-term mechanism to resolve debt risks tied to local governments and other problems in the financial sector. While resolving domestic financial risks would not normally be part of the purview of the spy agency, which is in charge of both domestic security and overseas espionage, the statement emphasized that “financial security is an important component of national security.”    

The spy agency has taken on a higher profile since the summer, when it joined the popular WeChat social media app. Since then, it has posted frequently on its efforts to protect national security in a variety of areas, down to telling primary school students what photos they shouldn’t post on social media.

The latest statement criticized some unnamed nations for abusing their “currency hegemony” and wielding financial sanctions as weapons, in comments probably aimed at the US. It also noted that some unnamed people are trying to undermine the global community’s confidence in investing in China and causing turbulence in the Chinese financial system by shorting the country or spreading pessimistic views on the economy. 

Global investors have been pulling money out of China this year as the economy slows, with foreign direct investment falling and stock investors withdrawing funds due to a market slump. The increasing focus on security in the country is also making people more cautious, and government crackdowns and arrests have spooked foreign businesses. 

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