CIA Targets Disillusioned Chinese Officials with Recruitment Videos

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) launched a new recruitment campaign on Thursday, releasing two videos in Mandarin aimed at enticing Chinese government officials to share classified information with the United States, Bloomberg reports.

The initiative, spearheaded by CIA Director John Ratcliffe, is part of a broader strategy to bolster intelligence gathering on China, which Washington views as its most significant competitor.

The videos, posted on platforms like X and Telegram despite the ban of most US social media in China, portray scenarios of disillusionment within the Chinese bureaucracy. One video depicts a senior official frustrated by the uncertainties of his career and the fear instilled in his family by government reforms. The other showcases a younger official feeling stifled by the hierarchical structure and lack of personal advancement opportunities.

The CIA hopes the campaign will encourage Chinese officials to divulge information on a range of sensitive topics, including China’s intelligence operations, technological advancements, military capabilities, cybersecurity programs, and confidential economic and foreign policy decisions.

“No adversary in the history of our nation has presented a more formidable challenge or capable strategic competitor than the Chinese Communist Party,” Ratcliffe said in a statement.

A CIA official, speaking anonymously, stated that the effort aims to offer Chinese officials an “alternative path” and a chance to influence events.

This recruitment drive follows a previous text-based campaign in Mandarin, Farsi, and Korean launched last year. That initiative, which provided instructions on contacting the agency, reached over 2.9 million people and garnered approximately 900,000 views, prompting the CIA to produce the new, more visually engaging videos.

The intensified focus on China comes as the US seeks to gain a deeper understanding of the workings of the Chinese government. The CIA and other US intelligence agencies have faced scrutiny regarding their collection capabilities in China, particularly following a 2017 report in the New York Times that Beijing had disrupted CIA spying operations in the country for several years.