CIA targets Chinese military officers in new recruitment video
US spy agency’s outreach, depicting a disillusioned mid-level officer, risks unsettling fragile calm before April’s Trump-XI summit
The CIA released a provocative recruitment video on Thursday targeting Chinese military officers, a move that exposes the underlying tensions threatening a fragile calm in US-China relations ahead of April’s highly anticipated meeting between the two countries’ leaders.
The release of the recruitment video comes on the same day US President Donald Trump boasted about his “very good relationship” with China. It is likely to draw the ire of Beijing in the lead-up to the key diplomatic meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
The Chinese-language video was posted to the US spy agency’s YouTube channel on Thursday as part of a drive to target disillusioned military officers and recruit them as informants.
It features a fictional mid-level officer contacting the CIA through its anonymous messaging system after deciding “the only thing leaders are protecting is their own interests” and that “their power is based on countless lies”.
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CIA targets Chinese military officers in new recruitment video
A Chinese text caption below the video asked for credible individuals “who are knowledgeable and willing to share with us”.