• China condemns CIA's recent recruitment videos, labeling them as absurd and amateurish.
• The Ministry of State Security warns that US efforts to recruit spies are politically provocative and doomed to fail.
• Social media backlash sees mockery from users, with some sarcastically suggesting fraud against the CIA.

China's Ministry of State Security (MSS) has sharply criticized the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for its recent recruitment efforts targeting Chinese citizens via social media videos. Describing the CIA's tactics as an "absurd" and "amateurish gambit," the MSS accused the agency of engaging in a "naked political provocation." The ministry stated that these supposedly crafted "job ads" reveal the "paranoid delusions" of American intelligence, suggesting that they undermine international trust and order, according to Indiatimes, Channel News Asia, and South China Morning Post.

The CIA's recruitment initiative includes job advertisements featuring fictional narratives about Chinese officials allegedly prepared to share state secrets due to dissatisfaction with the Communist Party. CIA Director John Ratcliffe had affirmed that these videos sought to bolster US intelligence by cultivating informants among Chinese officials. The MSS's response characterized these efforts as further signs of the CIA’s dwindling operational effectiveness and called them "farcical," as reported by TRT Global and Channel News Asia.

Additionally, the campaign prompted ridicule on Chinese platforms like Weibo, where users humorously suggested organizing fraud schemes against the CIA. As frustration concerning such US intelligence tactics grows, the MSS reiterated that "any attempt to incite betrayal among the Chinese people is doomed to fail," vowing to protect national secrets vigorously, according to South China Morning Post and Indiatimes.

The MSS also pointed to the drastic operational challenges the CIA faces and claimed that any "traitors" recruited through visible means may face exposure and legal repercussions under China's national security framework. Accusations of espionage have been a central theme in the tense relationship between the US and China, with both nations trading allegations of intelligence misconduct over the years, as highlighted by TRT Global and South China Morning Post.