A pair of new C.I.A. videos released Thursday aim to encourage Chinese nationals to spy for the agency, appealing to their frustrations with and fears of Beijing’s government and its corruption.
The Mandarin-language videos are modeled on a series of videos the agency made in recent years asking Russians to spy for the United States, appeals that previous C.I.A. leaders said helped develop new sources.
The appeal to Chinese nationals reflects the priority John Ratcliffe, the C.I.A. director, has placed on increasing the agency’s intelligence collection on China. In a note to C.I.A. officers last month, Mr. Ratcliffe said China was atop the agency’s priority list.
“No adversary in the history of our nation has presented a more formidable challenge or a more capable strategic competitor than the Chinese Communist Party,” Mr. Ratcliffe wrote. “It is intent on dominating the world economically, militarily and technologically, and it is aggressively trying to outcompete America in every corner of the globe.”
Mr. Ratcliffe has also told members of Congress that the C.I.A. needs to rebuild its human intelligence collection efforts: case officers recruiting Chinese officials to steal secrets from the Chinese government.
Last year the C.I.A. released instructions in Mandarin about how people in China could safely use the dark web to contact the agency. The text-only instructional video was viewed 900,000 times. While the Chinese internet is locked down and censored, American officials believe that more sophisticated Chinese officials know how to work around those controls.
A U.S. official said the agency would not have made the most recent, highly produced, videos if the instructional video had not worked.
One of the new videos released Thursday shows a midlevel official struggling in his daily life as he attends to a more senior official, who is living a comfortable life of fancy meals, clothes and cars. “The party raised to believe that our dedication to the path they lead us on would bring prosperity to us all,” the midlevel official narrates. “But the gains of our collective efforts are indulged by a select few. So, I must forge my own path.”
The final scene shows the midlevel official using a mobile phone to securely contact the C.I.A.
The other video plays on fears that the Chinese government is arresting and ousting senior officials without explanation.
“I see my position rise within the party as those above me are cast aside,” the video’s narration says. “But now I realize that my fate is just as precarious.”
The video shows the senior official avoiding Chinese government agents closing in on him. As he fears for his career, the senior official says he must find ways to protect his family. The video closes again with images of the official contacting the C.I.A.
“My purpose remains the same,” the video concludes. “Only my path has changed. No matter what my fate may bring, my family will know a good life.”
