CIA in online drive to recruit Chinese spies

The US Central Intelligence Agency has launched a new drive to recruit informants in China, Iran and North Korea, adding to what it says is success in enlisting Russians.

The premier US spy agency posted instructions in Putonghua, Farsi and Korean on its accounts on X, Facebook, Instagram, Telegram, LinkedIn and the Dark Web on how to contact it securely.

"Our efforts on this front have been successful in Russia, and we want to make sure individuals in other authoritarian regimes know we're open for business," it said, adding that the CIA was adapting to increased state repression and global surveillance.

A Putonghua video posted to YouTube featuring only written instructions advised individuals to contact the CIA via its official website using trusted encrypted virtual private networks or the TOR network.

"Your safety and wellbeing is our foremost consideration," it said.

It asked for individuals' names, locations, and contact details not associated with their real identities, along with information that could be of interest to the CIA, cautioning that responses were not guaranteed and could take time.

Liu Pengyu, a Chinese embassy spokesman, accused the US of waging "an organized and systematic" disinformation campaign against China and said "any attempts to drive a wedge between Chinese and the Chinese Communist Party or to weaken their close bond will inevitably fail."

The CIA's thirst for intelligence has grown as China expands cooperation with Russia and Iran and flexes its regional military muscle.

Russia, China, Iran and North Korea are known within the US intelligence community as "hard targets" - countries whose governments are difficult to penetrate.

REUTERS