CIA Launches Videos to Persuade Chinese Officials to Work for Them

The CIA published two videos aimed at persuading Chinese officials to share state and trade secrets with the United States.

FILE - The seal of the Central Intelligence Agency stands next to a U.S. flag at CIA headquarters in Langley, Va. AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File

As rumors of power struggles within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continue, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) published two videos on Thursday aimed at persuading Chinese officials to share state and trade secrets with the United States.

The two videos, each under three minutes long and shot with Hollywood-level production value, feature a narrator speaking in Mandarin. The voiceovers portray a person wanting to take control of his future and include a message that seeks to persuade officials to contact the CIA and work for the U.S. agency.

“One of the primary roles of the CIA is to collect intelligence for the president and for our policymakers,” CIA Director John Ratcliffe told Fox News. “One of the ways we do that is by recruiting assets that can help us steal secrets.”

The videos are available on the agency’s various social media channels, including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, and X.

The first video, titled “Reason for Choosing Cooperation: Become the Master of Your Destiny,” appears to be aimed at senior officials “seeking stability in a treacherous political climate,” as stated in the Mandarin video description.

The narrator tells the story of an accomplished official ill at ease in his position due to gossip, backstabbing, and colleagues simply “disappearing.”

“This man has worked hard his whole life to climb to a high position, but now realizes that no matter how high his position is, it is not enough to protect his family in these terrifying and turbulent times. He longs to take control of his fate, to find a path that will protect his loved ones and the fruits of his lifelong hard work,” the description continues.

The video links to a page with instructions on how to contact the CIA through a Tor service—a secure, anonymous, encrypted digital channel.

Below the Mandarin, there is a brief English description that says, “Our global mission demands that individuals be able to reach out to CIA securely from anywhere.”

The second video, titled “Reason for choosing cooperation: Creating a better future,” narrates the story of a junior official who questions what happened to the fruits of his labor.

“This video shows a Chinese official who studied and worked hard his whole life, but his hard work only nourished the career of his superior,” the description reads.

“Trapped in a system that was difficult to climb out of and consumed by intense competition, he is looking for another way to reward his hard work and achieve his goals. He chooses to make the difficult and important decision to contact the CIA in a safe way.”

The second video ends by telling the viewer, “Your fate is in your control.”

The descriptions of both videos ask their target audience whether they have information to share about the CCP’s “economic, fiscal, or trade policies.”

“Do you work in the defense industry? Do you work in national security, diplomacy, science, advanced technology, or deal with people who work in these fields? Please contact us,” the descriptions read.

The videos seek to play into the treacherous political environment under the CCP, which has had a persistent history of fierce and at times deadly infighting since it came to power in 1949.

When Xi Jinping became Party head in 2013, a pervasive anti-corruption campaign followed that largely targeted his political rivals. However, in recent years, some of these disciplinary methods have been used against Xi’s own appointments, reflecting the enduring power struggles among factions within the Party.

Recently, China’s People’s Liberation Army also came under scrutiny for corruption, with several top officers removed from their posts or simply vanishing without a trace.

From NTD News