The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency has released two new Mandarin-language videos aimed at recruiting Chinese nationals to provide intelligence to the United States.
The videos, unveiled on Thursday and posted across social media platforms including YouTube, Facebook, Telegram, Instagram, and X, are part of a broader campaign to encourage Chinese officials disillusioned by government corruption and political repression to share classified information with the agency.
The cinematic videos depict fictional scenarios in which both a high-ranking Chinese Communist Party official and a junior government employee become disenchanted with the Chinese system and ultimately decide to contact the CIA.
In one video, the protagonist expresses concern for his family’s safety as he witnesses colleagues “discarded like worn-out shoes,” ultimately concluding that his family’s fate “cannot rest in their hands” before reaching out to the CIA.
The videos provide detailed instructions on securely contacting the agency, including guidance on using the Tor browser to access the dark web.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe reiterated that the initiative reflects the agency’s intensified focus on China, calling the Chinese Communist Party “the most formidable competitor” the U.S. has ever faced.
Ratcliffe stated that the agency must respond to the growing challenge posed by China with “creativity and grit,” and described the new videos as one of several strategies being deployed to enhance human intelligence collection efforts against Washington’s strategic rival.
The campaign follows similar efforts previously aimed at Russian officials, which U.S. intelligence sources claim have successfully generated new leads and informants.
Last year, the CIA published text-only Mandarin instructions for safe communication, which reportedly garnered 900,000 views despite China’s extensive internet censorship.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has not issued an immediate response to the latest CIA initiative, which coincided with a national holiday in China.
The agency’s ongoing efforts highlight the difficulties the U.S. faces in penetrating the upper echelons of the Chinese government, especially following the dismantling of several CIA spy networks in China in recent years.
