New Delhi: The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has released a new video addressing Chinese military officers, urging them to spy for the US by securely sharing secrets amid Beijing’s recent high-level military purges.
On Thursday, CIA’s official X account posted the video with a YouTube link with a caption, stating, “The reason for stepping forward: To save the future.” The dramatised video portrays a high-ranking Chinese military officer attending a closed-door meeting. Later, seated alone in his car away from home, he is seen driving to a secluded location where he is purportedly using a secure network to transmit confidential data to the CIA.
In the YouTube description, the US federal agency wrote in Mandarin that it wants credible individuals with access to insights on Chinese leaders, the military, intelligence services, diplomacy, economics, science, and advanced technology.
The post links to the CIA’s official YouTube channel, where the clip lays out both a narrative and technical instructions for securely contacting the agency.
To counter this, the Ministry of National Defence of the People’s Republic of China has launched its own campaign, with videos warning its citizens against spying for foreign nations and urging them to keep a watchful eye out for espionage attempts.
In the past year, the CIA has uploaded five consecutive videos on its YouTube channel as a digital outreach campaign, which have garnered millions of views, specifically targeting insiders within China’s political and military establishment.
In the description of a few of the videos, the US intelligence has expressed commitment to protecting those who reach out, calling the safety of contacts a “professional obligation”. Instructions are provided for securely contacting the CIA via its Tor covert service, hosted on the Dark Web.
Viewers are directed to consult a secure contact guide and to use the Tor network, with additional information available through the Tor Project. CIA also urges patience after contact, saying that submissions will be fully evaluated to ensure both effectiveness and safety.
Past campaigns by CIA
In January this year, the CIA published a step-by-step demonstration showing how individuals can securely contact the Agency. The video detailed operational security precautions, reinforcing that the CIA’s “global mission is dedicated to enabling individuals to securely contact us from anywhere”.
Two videos released in May 2025 focused on fictional Chinese officials navigating instability and internal political pressure.
One depicted a senior official being followed by the Chinese intelligence, who fears that he and his family will be purged as he rises amongst the ranks under the communist party. Another showed a personal assistant to a top official gathering internal details and leaking them via a secure browser because he saw massive corruption amongst the higher officials.
An earlier October 2024 video explained, in multiple languages, eight different ways to contact the CIA securely. It warned viewers to be cautious of fraudulent accounts mimicking official CIA platforms.
China’s military purge
The latest video comes amid reports of turbulence within China’s military leadership, including the ousting of Vice-Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) Zhang Youxia. Xi’s sweeping anti-corruption drive has purged hundreds of top officials across party and military structures.
By targeting military officers directly, the CIA appears to be seeking to exploit potential discord within the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
US intelligence officials have previously indicated that penetrating China’s inner decision-making circles remains a top priority, particularly as tensions deepen over trade, technology, Taiwan, and regional security
During a confirmation hearing, John Ratcliffe, CIA Director, emphasised that Beijing is the federal agency’s primary focus, underscoring the need for a “decisive intelligence advantage”, which was non-existent few years ago.
The CIA frames the outreach as essential to understanding “the truth about China”, and assessing threats posed by the PLA and Beijing’s strategic ambitions.
(Edited by Vidhi Bhutra)