U.S. intelligence agency releases footage aimed at coaxing confidential information from Chinese government officers.
Stepping Up the Game
The CIA has recently stepped up its game, taking a bold move to lure Chinese officials into spilling the beans on their top-secret information. On Thursday, the intelligence agency released two slick Chinese-language videos, marking the latest move in their quest to gather juicy intel on their strategic adversary.
This move comes hot on the heels of the CIA's aggressive recruitment drive back in October. They went as far as posting a how-to guide online, explaining how potential informants could securely communicate with the agency. This was a strategic move, claiming success from their previous efforts in enlisting Russians.
The CIA seems pretty certain that these videos are bypassing China's famed 'Great Firewall' and landing right in the lap of their intended audience. A CIA official confidently stated, "If it ain't working, we wouldn't keep making more videos." China, of course, stands as the CIA's number one priority in this "truly generational" competition between the US and China.
The videos, launched on the CIA's social media platforms, are set in fictional scenarios where a senior Chinese Communist Party (CCP) official and a junior government worker with inside scoops on classified info feel disillusioned with the Chinese system and decide to approach the CIA. This leaves the door open for possible discontent within the Chinese government and senior CCP echelons, especially considering the ongoing purges by President Xi Jinping, which have seen some top officials and military leaders, even Xi's close allies, vanish.
Interestingly, China isn't just watching this played out on screens. They've been stepped up their own game, targeting current and former US federal employees for recruitment, a fact highlighted in intelligence briefs from April 2025[1][2]. This cat-and-mouse game between the two superpowers is a clear indication of the escalating intel war. Moreover, the CIA's videos might just add more tension to the diplomatic strife bring about by the US-China trade war, where the Treasury Secretary, presumed to be either Yellen or Bessend (details are fuzzy), emphasized China's unsustainable tariff policies[4].
Despite the CIA's proactive approach, the actual impact of these efforts remains unclear. No hard evidence has surfaced yet regarding the success of these campaigns. The Yale Jackson School's event with former CIA Deputy Director David Cohen back in April didn't delve into the operational specifics[3]. Nonetheless, this seems to be part of a broader psychological and operational strategy, mirroring China's own aggressive recruitment tactics. However, China's sophisticated surveillance and counter-espionage system pose significant challenges to these human intel operations.
- The CIA's recent move, releasing Chinese-language videos, is part of a broader strategy intended to gather military and political intel on China.
- The videos underscore the CIA's competitive approach towards China, a priority in the US-China "generational" competition.
- As China responds by targeting current and former US federal employees, this self-proclaimed espionage war intensifies, reflecting in the growing diplomatic strife due to the US-China trade war.
- While the CIA continues their proactive approach, the success of their efforts, such as recruitment of Chinese officials, remains unclear, as there is no hard evidence to support it, as discussed in the April 2025 intelligence briefs and Yale Jackson School's event with former CIA Deputy Director David Cohen.
