That is an interesting question. It is not a new term but it seems to be gaining prominence and importance. It has been added to the draft of the new national defense law. From the 10.21 newsletter https://sinocism.com/p/korean-war-commemoration-meeting

Beijing Youth Daily Wechat account - "Big news! The full text of the draft amendment to the National Defense Law is published, with four new words added to key provision" -重磅！国防法修订草案全文公布，重要条款新增四个字_腾讯新闻

Those four characters are "发展利益 development interests", in "中华人民共和国的主权、统一、领土完整、安全和发展利益遭受威胁时，国家依照宪法和法律规定，进行全国总动员或者局部动员。 When the sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity, security and development interests of the People's Republic of China are threatened, the State, in accordance with the Constitution and laws, will carry out a general or partial mobilization."

Question: So what exactly are "development interests", and how might they be defined? It seems like it could be defined quite broadly.

More from this article:

Wei Fenghe mentioned in the explainer that the current national defense law has played an important role in building and consolidating national defense and promoting the modernization of national defense and the military since it was announced and put into effect in 1997.

"With the development and changes in the world and national conditions, the Party and military conditions, the current national defense law can no longer fully adapt to the new tasks and requirements of national defense and military construction in the new era, and is in urgent need of revision and improvement."

魏凤和在说明中提到，现行国防法自1997年公布施行以来，对于建设和巩固国防、推进国防和军队现代化发挥了重要作用。

“随着世情国情党情军情发展变化，现行国防法已不能完全适应新时代国防和军队建设的新任务新要求，亟待修订完善。”

In introducing the background, Wei Fenghe mentioned that, over the past 20 years, the world's strategic landscape has undergone profound evolution, international strategic competition has been on the rise, global and regional security issues have continued to increase, armed conflicts and local wars have continued, and the instability and uncertainty facing international security have become more pronounced.

"China is in an important period of strategic opportunity for development, facing more diversified and complex security threats and challenges, putting forward new and higher requirements for the overall enhancement of national defense capabilities, and there is an urgent need to make corresponding adjustments to the defense policy system to provide a legal basis for building a strong and consolidated modern national defense and effectively safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests."

According to the report, the official launch of the revision of the National Defense Law is in January 2019. At present, the draft revision has been discussed and passed by the executive meeting of the State Council and the Standing Meeting of the Central Military Commission.

在介绍背景时，魏凤和提到，20多年来，世界战略格局深刻演变，国际战略竞争呈上升之势，全球和地区性安全问题持续增多，武装冲突和局部战争连续不断，国际安全面临的不稳定性不确定性更加突出。

“我国处于发展的重要战略机遇期，面临的安全威胁和挑战更趋多元复杂，对全面提升国防能力提出新的更高要求，迫切需要对国防政策制度作出相应调整，为建设强大巩固的现代国防，有效捍卫国家主权、安全、发展利益提供法律依据。”

据介绍，国防法修订工作正式启动是在2019年1月。目前，修订草案已经国务院常务会议和中央军委常务会议讨论通过。