CIA releases new video aimed at recruiting Chinese military officers

The CIA has released a new recruitment video in Mandarin aimed at Chinese military officers, showing a fictional mid-level People’s Liberation Army officer dealing with corrupt leadership and ultimately choosing to contact the US intelligence agency.

The video is the latest installment of a targeted public recruitment campaign Porcelainwhich CIA Director John Ratcliffe described as the agency’s top intelligence priority amid what he called a “generational competition” with Beijing.

In the short film, the central character watches as qualified officers are dismissed and replaced by political loyalists who lack military credentials. Concerned about what he considers corruption and concerned about the impact on his young family, the officer decides to approach the CIA.

“The main character’s struggle represents the widely shared experience and values ​​of those who serve in the PLA,” a CIA official told News themezone, referring to the People’s Liberation Army. The video aims to highlight what the agency describes as a growing chasm “between Chinese elites who want the best for their bank accounts and Chinese citizens who want the best for their country.”

The campaign is not directed at the Chinese. President Xi Jinping personally, the official said, but to people inside China “who may feel deeply concerned about the direction their country is taking but feel powerless to do anything about it.”

In a statement, Ratcliffe said the agency intends to build on the reach of its previous efforts.

“Last year, the CIA’s Mandarin video campaign reached many Chinese citizens, and we know there are many more who are looking for a way to improve their lives and change their country for the better,” Ratcliffe said. “We will continue to offer Chinese government officials and citizens the opportunity to work together for a better future.”

The agency declined to provide specific metrics, but said its previous Mandarin videos “reached millions of people and inspired new feeds.” The CIA has seen “more and more people with knowledge about China volunteering their services and information through our website on the dark web,” the official said, adding: “If the videos didn’t work, we wouldn’t post any more videos.”

The new video, like its predecessors, includes guidance on operational security. Your final screen shows instructions in Mandarin on how to contact the CIA safely.

Although major American social media platforms are blocked in China, the agency believes their content can still circulate. “Their wall is imperfect,” the official said, referring to Beijing’s so-called Great Firewall.

The campaign comes amid high-profile leadership shakeups within the PLA, including the dismissal of several high-ranking military officers in recent months. The CIA official declined to make a direct connection, but suggested the parallels were notable. “The question to ask is: does art imitate life or does life imitate art?” the official said.

American intelligence leaders have long identified China as the primary strategic challenge facing the United States. Ratcliffe has said publicly that China represents the CIA’s “top intelligence priority” and that the agency must provide a “decisive intelligence advantage” in the competition with Beijing.

The public recruitment campaigns represent an evolution in the craft for the agency, which in recent years has increasingly used online cinematic videos to reach audiences within rival states, including Russia and Iran.