New CIA Campaign Aims to Reach Discontented Chinese Insiders
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has released two new Chinese-language videos designed to persuade Chinese officials to share classified information with the United States. This marks the latest public step by the agency to strengthen its human intelligence operations targeting Beijing.
The CIA’s focus on China is part of a wider strategy to gather insights from strategic rivals. This follows an earlier campaign launched in October, where the CIA invited potential informants from China, Iran, and North Korea to get in touch through secure online channels. The agency previously reported success in recruiting Russian sources.
CIA Confident in Reaching Audience Despite Chinese Censorship
According to a CIA official, the videos are successfully bypassing China’s strict online censorship, known as the “Great Firewall.” The official stated, “If it weren’t working, we wouldn’t be making more videos.” China remains the agency’s top intelligence target in what is described as a long-term, high-stakes rivalry.
The two short films, shared on the CIA’s social media accounts, depict fictional scenarios. In one, a senior Chinese Communist Party (CCP) official becomes disillusioned with the government’s treatment of its own members. In another, a junior government worker with access to sensitive data decides to make contact with the CIA.
Discontent Within the Chinese Government a Key Target
The stories in the videos appear crafted to connect with individuals feeling marginalised or insecure within China’s political system. As the CCP continues to remove top leaders—some of whom were close allies of President Xi Jinping—the CIA hopes to tap into this potential unrest.
One video’s narrator reflects, “As I rise within the party, I watch those above me being discarded like worn-out shoes… My family’s fate cannot rest in their hands.” The scene ends with the character using a tablet to contact the CIA via the dark web, with the agency’s logo and secure contact details displayed.
Gathering Intelligence Across Critical Areas
The CIA is not solely interested in counterintelligence. It is also pursuing information on China’s military capabilities, cyber operations, scientific developments, and foreign policy plans. Intelligence on economic strategies is also in high demand.
Though China’s embassy in Washington did not comment directly on the videos, it has accused the US of spreading disinformation. The embassy claims attempts to divide the Chinese people from the CCP will not succeed.
Earlier this year, US intelligence agencies labelled China as the top threat in military and cyber terms. Officials warned that Beijing could target US infrastructure, launch cyber attacks, and compete for dominance in artificial intelligence by 2030.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe described the CCP as the most serious challenge the US has ever faced. He said the agency would respond with urgency and innovation. “These videos are just one of the ways we are doing this,” he stated.
with inputs from Reuters
