The longest-serving Minister of State Security to date, he is also regarded as the most influential, greatly expanding the size, budget and capabilities of the MSS during a pivotal time, which saw tactical collaboration with the American Central Intelligence Agency in arming, training and funding Afghan guerrillas against the Soviets, the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre, the end of the Cold War and the subsequent establishment of good relations with Russia, and the handover of Hong Kong from British to Chinese control.

As Minister of State Security, Jia Chunwang continued and expanded the close collaboration with the American CIA and with Pakistan in training Afghan guerrillas against the Soviets.

Beginning in February 1980, Chinese intelligence, led at the time by Luo Qingchang, had started offering small arms and financial support to Afghan resistance groups.

[3] When Jia Chunwang became head of the MSS, support expanded to include heavy machine guns, mortars, recoilless rifles, rocket launchers and anti-aircraft artillery; the MSS, in collaboration with the Intelligence Bureau of the PLA General Staff, provided these weapons to a number of Afghan resistance groups established by the Chinese themselves, including "Victory", "Guards", "Immortal Flame" and "Paikar".

[3] As Minister of State Security, Jia Chunwang played a major role in expelling from China all foundations and organizations funded by, or collaborating with, Hungarian-American billionaire George Soros.

Then, in October 1986, Soros collaborated with Li Xianglu of the "Association of Young Chinese Economists" to establish a Beijing office for his foundations, and Zhao Ziyang (then Premier) approved.

Soon thereafter Soros sent a message that he was interested in establishing personal relations with senior Communist Party leaders to exchange views on problems of economic reform in China.

On 1 June 1989, three days before the massacre, an MSS report written mostly by Jia himself and titled "On ideological and political infiltration into our country from the United States and other international political forces", was delivered to every single member of the Politburo, and to senior Party elders, including Deng Xiaoping, Li Xiannian and Chen Yun, advocating for immediate military action and placing responsibility for the protests and the turmoil on foreign, hostile Western forces:[7] "The great socialist country of China has always been a major target for the peaceful evolution methods of the Western capitalist countries headed by the United States.

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China and after the failure of U.S. armed intervention, each American administration has pursued the same goal of peaceful evolution and has done a great deal of mischief aimed at overthrowing the Communist Party and sabotaging the socialist system.

The phraseology may vary, but the essence remains the same: to cultivate so-called democratic forces within socialist countries and to stimulate and organize political opposition using catchwords like "democracy", "liberty", and "human rights".