China’s back door into our military? US recruiters use CCP-controlled messaging app to target Chinese nationals

Several U.S. military recruiting offices are communicating through a Chinese Communist Party-monitored messaging application as they seek to target Chinese nationals interested in enlisting, fueling concerns about potential national security risks.

CCP's grip on recruiting

After looking into a Department of Justice affidavit filed in June, Blaze News has discovered that some recruiters have been using WeChat. The court document claimed that the U.S. Navy Recruiting Station Alhambra in San Gabriel, California, had a bulletin board displaying recent recruits, the majority of whom identified their "hometown" as "China."

'China is our nation's greatest hegemonic adversary.'

The DOJ's criminal complaint was filed against two Chinese nationals who have been accused of taking photographs of the bulletin board and sending them to an officer with the CCP's Ministry of State Security.

The foreign adversary hometown designations spark serious concerns that individuals with divided loyalties and even potential CCP operatives have infiltrated the U.S. military.

While U.S. citizenship is required for officer and security clearance positions, noncitizens who are lawful permanent residents can enlist in the military. LPRs are generally eligible to naturalize after five years of continuous U.S. residence, and service members may qualify for expedited naturalization.

As of February 2024, roughly 40,000 foreign nationals were serving in the U.S. military. According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' reporting, China ranks among the top 10 countries of birth for U.S. service members who have become naturalized citizens through the military. Just over 2,000 Chinese nationals were approved for military naturalizations from fiscal years 2020 through 2024.

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Photo by Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images

Experts sound alarm

Dr. Lawrence Sellin, a retired U.S. Army Reserve colonel and biological and chemical warfare defense expert, told Blaze News, "Infiltration of the U.S. military is a major goal of the Chinese Communist Party."

"It is accomplished via Chinese immigrants to the United States who become permanent residents or U.S. citizens but remain loyal to the CCP, either directly by the Chinese immigrants themselves or their pro-CCP children," he explained. "In fact, pro-CCP Chinese-American organizations are promoting such recruitment, facilitating CCP infiltration of the U.S. military."

Gordon Chang, a Gatestone Institute senior fellow, similarly warned that China has "weaponized its nationals."

He said in a comment to Blaze News, "China's National Intelligence Law of 2017 requires Chinese nationals and entities to spy if relevant authorities make demands."

"Moreover, in the Communist Party's top-down system, no person can disobey an order from the Party. Additionally, the regime coerces all ethnic Chinese, regardless of nationality, to do its bidding by threatening harm to loved ones and relatives in China," Chang stated. "Therefore, ethnic Chinese pose a special risk of espionage and sabotage to the U.S. military. Except under special circumstances, the U.S. military should not accept recruits who are Chinese nationals."

Lily Tang Williams, a Republican congressional candidate in New Hampshire and a survivor of Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution, also argued against allowing foreign nationals from adversarial countries, including China, to enlist in the U.S. military.

Tang Williams told Blaze News, "China is our nation's greatest hegemonic adversary. They have made it very clear that they are seeking to usurp the United States' position in the world by taking advantage of our open society and using their nationals and businesses to spread their influence, doing military and economic espionage. The 'China Dream' is Xi Jinping's 'Soft Power Invasion' slogan to enable China overtaking the U.S. as the dominant number one global power by 2049."

More evidence of CCP reach

The troubling information that emerged from the DOJ affidavit led to further concerning revelations.

Journalist Jennifer Zeng uncovered another alarming detail about the Navy recruiting office in San Gabriel. She discovered that a suspected Chinese influencer had filmed a tour of the facility, which was later posted online as an apparent advertisement aimed at Chinese nationals.

The original video, posted to YouTube with nearly 25,000 views, is entirely in Chinese. The video shooter, "Rocky," joins EN2 Qlang Wang on his commute to work. He then interviews several suspected Chinese nationals as they go through the recruiting process at the office.

One recruit tells Rocky that he is 37 years old, has been residing in the U.S. for six years, and that he wants to join the Navy because it is "a chance for new opportunities [and] life experience," according to Zeng's translation of the video. Two additional recruits similarly attribute their decision to join the U.S. military to its opportunities.

The recruitment video concludes by listing WeChat as the first way to contact Zhong Yang, a presumed recruiter at the office. Initially, the video's YouTube description also highlighted WeChat as the main contact option, but that information was later removed, according to Zeng.

A Navy spokesperson confirmed to Blaze News that Wang and Yang are in the Navy, though declined to comment further.

‘Given that the CCP views the US as its No. 1 enemy and has actively infiltrated and spied on the US military, it's hard to believe that the US Navy would tolerate such a massive national security risk.’

Zeng wrote in a post on X, "EVERY recruiter here is Chinese, as well as all the people coming to enlist. The working language here is also Chinese."

Following her discovery of the Chinese-language tour video, Zeng posted her own videos from outside the U.S. Navy Recruiting Alhambra office and the neighboring Marine Corps Recruiting Station that showed bulletins taped to the windows.

The flyers were written in Chinese, featuring the U.S. Marine Corps seal, contact information for "Sgt Liu," and a QR code linking to Liu's WeChat.

"Joining the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve does not force you to become a citizen; you can maintain your permanent green card status," one of the flyers read, according to Zeng's translation. "Fast track to citizenship is also an option."

Image Source: Jennifer Zeng

A spokesperson with the Marine Corps told Blaze News that the flyers had been removed.

"In December 2024, materials featuring a QR code linking to a personal WeChat account were displayed at a Marine Corps facility in San Gabriel, California. WeChat is not an authorized platform for official use, and the materials were promptly removed following review," the spokesperson stated.

When asked about the screening processes for U.S. citizens versus green card holders, particularly those from adversarial nations, the Marines said, "All applicants, whether naturalized or birthright U.S. citizens, undergo the same screening process. Additional vetting is conducted for individuals with ties to countries designated as potential security concerns."

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Photo by PEDRO PARDO/AFP via Getty Images

Zeng told Blaze News that she was "truly shocked" that military recruiters were using WeChat for recruiting purposes.

"Virtually all Chinese dissidents — and many ordinary Chinese people — know that WeChat is 100% owned and monitored by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). There are numerous documented cases of the CCP using WeChat to surveil and persecute Chinese citizens," Zeng said.

"Given that the CCP views the U.S. as its No. 1 enemy and has actively infiltrated and spied on the U.S. military, it's hard to believe that the U.S. Navy would tolerate such a massive national security risk," she continued. "I sincerely hope the growing number of cases involving CCP agents stealing U.S. military secrets will serve as a wake-up call — and that the U.S. military and Navy will address this issue urgently."

Zeng explained that after she posted her findings on social media, some of her followers informed her that another recruiting office in New York was similarly advertising with flyers written in Chinese.

Blaze News confirmed those claims.

A U.S. Army Recruiting Office in Flushing, New York, advertised reaching out via WeChat to contact the office's recruiter in two posts on Google Maps.

Additionally, another U.S. Army Recruiting Office in Rowland Heights, California, similarly posted on Google Maps in Chinese, listing the recruiter's contact information, including a WeChat account.

USCIS spokesman Matthew J. Tragesser told Blaze News, “USCIS’s first priority is rooting out malicious actors who seek to take advantage of our lawful immigration system, whether for their own enrichment or to attack and undermine our nation. Our agency was born out of the horror of Sept. 11, 2001, and every American counts on us to detect and stop threats to our country. Individuals from high-risk countries, or countries with known anti-American governments, may face enhanced measures to protect American interests.”

“USCIS screens all applicants for immigration benefits — regardless of military status. USCIS maintains the integrity in the U.S. immigration system through enhanced screening and vetting to deter, detect, and disrupt immigration fraud and threats to our national security and public safety,” Tragesser added.

When reached for comment, the White House directed Blaze News to the Department of Defense, stating that the department was looking into the allegations regarding WeChat. The DOD, in turn, referred the matter to the individual branches involved. Neither the U.S. Army nor any of the recruiters listed in the advertisements responded to a request for comment.

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