President Xi Jinping will head the new central national security commission, the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee decided on Friday.

Premier Li Keqiang and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Zhang Dejiang were appointed as deputy heads to the commission, according to a decision adopted at a political bureau meeting.

The commission, which will answer to the political bureau and its standing committee, will be the CPC Central Committee agency responsible for decision-making, deliberation and coordination on national security work, said a document issued after the meeting.

It will be in charge of "making overall plans and coordinating major issues and major work concerning national security."

Zhang Xixian, a professor with the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, told the Global Times that the functions of the commission will cover both foreign policy-making and maintaining domestic stability, which will unify external and internal elements to maintain the security of the country.

Before establishing the commission, the tasks of protecting State security were scattered throughout different departments, and the new commission will act as a coordinator and decider that integrates these scattered powers, said Fu Siming, another professor with the Party School.

"Different departments will join in the security commission system," said Fu, adding that State security issues would also be diverse, ranging from protecting the country's sovereignty to anti-terrorism and cyber security.

According to Fu, the commission may also serve as a directing body to cope with major emergencies in the country.

The establishment of a national security commission was a decision made at the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee in November 2013, and President Xi publicly gave an explanation of the commission's main responsibilities after the session.

"Establishing a national security commission to strengthen the unified leadership of State security work is an urgent need," Xi said in the explanation.

The main responsibilities of the commission will include construction of the rule of law system concerning State security, research, resolving major issues of national security, setting principles and policies, as well as stipulating and implementing strategies.

"State security and social stability are preconditions for reform and development," said Xi in the explanation, adding that only when the nation is safe and society is stable can reform and development constantly advance.

The explanation noted that China is facing two pressures: internationally, the country needs to safeguard its sovereignty, security and development interests; domestically, political security and social stability should be ensured.

China faces a number of possible overseas security threats, with territorial disputes in the East China Sea, where China has long-running territorial disputes with Japan over the Diaoyu Islands, and in the South China Sea, where it is embroiled in disputes with some Southeast Asian countries such as the Philippines and Vietnam.

Meanwhile, the threat of terrorism in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region is increasing, with nearly a dozen terrorist attacks occurring in the past year.

Agencies contributed to this story