China's President, Xi Jinping, will head the national security commission according to a decision made by the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee at a meeting on January 24.

Premier Li Keqiang and top legislator Zhang Dejiang will be deputy heads of the commission.

The commission, which will report to the Political Bureau and its standing committee, will be an agency of the CPC Central Committee responsible for decision-making, deliberation and coordination on national security issues, said a statement of the meeting.

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

A decision made at the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee last November suggested with the idea of establishing a national security commission.

In an explanation of the proposed commission's main responsibilities that was made public after the session, Xi said, "Establishing a national security commission to strengthen the unified leadership of state security work is needed urgently."