Trump’s Covert War on China: CIA’s Influence Operation Unveiled

In a stunning revelation, former U.S. officials have disclosed that former President Donald Trump authorized the CIA to launch a clandestine campaign on Chinese social media in 2019. The objective was to turn public opinion against the Xi Jinping government and undermine China’s global influence. This covert operation marked a return to Cold War-era tactics and signalled a significant escalation in the ongoing U.S.-China rivalry.

The Clandestine Mission

Two years into his presidency, Donald Trump gave the Central Intelligence Agency the green light to wage a covert influence campaign targeting China. A small team of operatives was tasked with spreading negative narratives about the Chinese government and leaking disparaging intelligence to overseas news outlets, according to former U.S. officials with direct knowledge of the highly classified operation.

The CIA team promoted allegations of corruption within the ruling Communist Party and criticized China’s Belt and Road Initiative, a global infrastructure financing program, as wasteful. These narratives, though cloaked in secrecy, were rooted in factual intelligence, the sources said.

Sowing Paranoia and Misinformation

The efforts within China were intended to sow paranoia among top leaders, forcing the government to expend resources chasing intrusions into its tightly controlled internet. “We wanted them chasing ghosts,” one former official revealed.

While the CIA declined to comment on the existence or details of the program, a spokesperson for China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the operation, accusing the U.S. government of using “public opinion space and media platforms as weapons to spread false information and manipulate international public opinion.”

A Return to Cold War Tactics

The CIA’s covert campaign signalled a return to methods reminiscent of the Cold War era’s struggle against the Soviet Union. “The Cold War is back,” remarked Tim Weiner, author of a book on the history of political warfare.

The operation came in response to years of aggressive covert efforts by China aimed at increasing its global influence, the sources said. Trump’s tougher stance on China marked a departure from his predecessors’ approaches.

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Global Reach and Potential Risks

Reuters was unable to determine the impact of the secret operations or whether the Biden administration has maintained the program. However, intelligence historians suggest that covert action authorizations often remain in place across administrations.

The operation targeted public opinion not only in China but also in countries where the U.S. and China are competing for influence, including Southeast Asia, Africa, and the South Pacific, according to four former officials.

While covert messaging allows the U.S. to implant ideas in censored countries, the campaign against Beijing risks escalating tensions and undermining U.S. credibility, experts warn. China could use evidence of the operation to bolster accusations of Western subversion and endanger dissidents, opposition groups, and independent journalists, who could be falsely painted as CIA assets.

As Trump hints at an even tougher approach toward China if re-elected, the revelations shed light on the covert dimensions of the intensifying U.S.-China rivalry and the potential risks of escalating information warfare between the two superpowers.