CIA Releases New Chinese Video To Recruit PLA Officers

Weeks after China removed senior military leaders, the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has released a new Chinese-language video aimed at People’s Liberation Army (PLA) officers who may be unhappy with the situation in the country.

The video, titled “Save the Future”, was posted on YouTube and other social media platforms. According to a report by the Financial Times, it is part of the CIA’s ongoing effort to attract new intelligence sources inside China.

In the video, the narrator is shown as a fictional mid-level PLA officer who feels disappointed and frustrated. He says that China’s party leaders are more focused on protecting their own wealth than serving the country. The narrator later decides to contact the CIA to secure a better future for his family.

A CIA official told CNN that the video shows the narrator “making the difficult decision to stay true to his values and forge a better path for his family by contacting the CIA.”

CIA Director John Ratcliffe also said the agency will continue offering Chinese officials and citizens a chance to work toward what he called a “brighter future.”

The CIA has claimed that its earlier Chinese-language recruitment videos helped the agency gain new intelligence sources inside China.

Although the CIA did not directly link the video to China’s recent military removals, it was released around two weeks after President Xi Jinping removed General Zhang Youxia, a key figure on the Central Military Commission (CMC), and General Liu Zhenli, another senior CMC member.

Reports say this latest action is part of a wider purge. Since 2023, China has removed or investigated more than 20 senior military officials. The recent removals are being described as one of the most serious military shake-ups in China in decades.

US officials believe China remains the biggest strategic challenge for the United States. They also say China is one of the hardest countries for American intelligence agencies to gather information from.

The CIA is reportedly trying to rebuild its intelligence network in China after the US lost several sources in Beijing during a major counterintelligence crackdown that began in 2010.

Meanwhile, Xi Jinping has continued strong anti-corruption campaigns since taking power in 2012. Critics say these campaigns are sometimes used to remove political rivals.

In a recent virtual address to the PLA, Xi referred to the past year as “unusual and extraordinary” and said the military had gone through “revolutionary tempering” in the fight against corruption. These remarks were his first public references to corruption in his annual New Year greeting since 2022.