CIA Targets Disillusioned Chinese Officials With Spy Recruitment Videos in Mandarin

The CIA has intensified efforts to recruit Chinese nationals as informants, releasing Mandarin-spoken videos that appeal directly to disillusioned officials and workers within China's government apparatus.

The initiative builds on a broader campaign that began in October 2023 and focuses on so-called "hard targets" such as China, Iran, and North Korea. It reflects the agency's renewed focus on intelligence collection from what it considers some of its most critical adversaries.

The newly released videos, published on the CIA's official channels and accessible via YouTube, feature dramatic, Mandarin-language narratives portraying fictional Chinese citizens questioning their loyalty to the state.

One video follows a mid-level party official fearful of becoming a target in Xi Jinping's anti-corruption purges. "As I rise within the party, I watch those above me get discarded like worn-out shoes," the character reflects, adding: "What I fear most is that my family's fate is tied to my own."

Another video follows a young government worker disillusioned by the disparity between official rhetoric and lived reality. "The sky that was meant to be shared by all is now enjoyed by only a few," the narrator says, speaking about frustration of those left behind economically. Both videos end with the characters contacting the CIA, presented as a path to a better future.

The CIA has encouraged individuals with knowledge of China's defense, diplomacy, trade, and advanced technology sectors to make contact through encrypted channels. "Do you work in national security, diplomacy, science, advanced technology, or deal with people who work in these fields?" one video caption reads. "Please contact us."

"If it weren't working, we wouldn't be making more videos," a CIA official told Reuters, noting the agency's confidence that the material is bypassing China's internet censorship.

The October campaign in which the CIA posted step-by-step instructions in Mandarin, Farsi, and Korean focused on how to securely contact the agency using VPNs or the TOR network. At the time, a CIA spokesperson said, "Our efforts on this front have been successful in Russia," referencing earlier efforts to recruit informants after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.