The CIA has released a new Mandarin language recruitment video aimed at Chinese soldiers amid turmoil in China’s military leadership.
The video, titled The Reason for Stepping Forward To Save the Future, was posted on the agency’s YouTube channel. It follows a fictional Chinese officer who becomes disillusioned with his superiors and secretly reaches out to the CIA. In the narration, he says leaders are protecting their own interests rather than the people and that he cannot let their madness shape his daughter’s future.
This is the fifth Mandarin language recruitment advert the CIA has put out since late 2024. CIA director John Ratcliffe said the videos have reached many people in China even though YouTube is officially blocked there, as users rely on software tools to bypass internet controls.
The campaign comes as the People’s Liberation Army faces instability after a wave of high level purges. Last month, Xi Jinping ordered an investigation into Zhang Youxia, his top general and once his closest military ally, on suspicion of corruption. Another senior figure on the Central Military Commission, Liu Zhenli, has also been placed under investigation.
Several other senior officers and defence officials have been removed in recent years over alleged graft or disloyalty to Xi, including former defence minister Li Shangfu. Western intelligence agencies see the removal of such powerful figures as a major shock inside China’s armed forces.
Chinese social media users have also responded to the CIA’s outreach. Last year, an AI generated spoof video copied the CIA format to mock life in the United States, claiming Wall Street elites manipulate finance.
This week Xi publicly acknowledged the upheaval in the PLA, saying the army had undergone revolutionary tempering in the fight against corruption. He insisted that rank and file troops remain loyal to the Communist party and have proven themselves capable and dependable.
China’s government has long taken a hard line on foreign spying. Previous reporting showed that between 2010 and 2012 Beijing dismantled much of the CIA’s network in China, killing or jailing more than a dozen sources, including one reportedly shot in front of colleagues as a warning.
Foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian condemned foreign interference and vowed that China will take all necessary measures to fight infiltration and sabotage by anti China forces abroad. He said Beijing will defend its sovereignty, security and development interests and that the schemes of such forces will not succeed.
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