The Chinese state media has reported that an "unnamed foreign" country is currently conducting spy recruitment at Chinese universities via blogs and social networks.

Just this week, a series of reports have been published about young Chinese students being convinced to work as foreign intelligence agents.

Like Us on Facebook

The reports appear to be China's response to a short video that the US Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) posted the previous month. The documentary featured 28-year-old Michigan-based Glenn Duffie Shriver's story of how he was recruited to become a spy while he was in China, and how he was later caught by US authorities, according to Quartz.

FBI's documentary also detailed how Chinese intelligence authorities lured Shriver using cash and expensive liquor, playing on his fascination with the Asian country.

While the undercover recruitment process is no longer a surprise, each country's attempt to create a manipulative and cruel picture of the other is more interesting.

This may signal the two government agencies' race to appeal to public opinion to glean important information.

On May 5, the Chinese state-run media firm, People's Daily, reported an unnamed foreign country's recruitment of some 40 people from 20 provinces for a job involving the relay of military information to an agent with the web alias 'Feige' or 'Flying Brother.'

On May 7, Global Times, another Chinese state-owned media, alleged that the same unnamed foreign intelligence group was repeatedly trying to lure Chinese students into being part of the organization.

The Global Times said the foreign intelligence agents were looking for top-secret information from the government and were taking advantage of the gullibility and financial needs of their recruits. The report bore a striking resemblance to Shriver's story.

CCTV had also published an interview with a jailed Chinese informant. This account was also similar to the Shriver interview posted by the FBI.

According to a Chinese student, he was offered a $500 monthly allowance so he could study China's civil service exam. Another account told of a former Guangdong naval science college student being contacted online by a Miss Q and being offered payment for photos of some military facilities.

Global Times cited a Chinese security official saying that the foreign intelligence agency used the students' dependence on the money being offered to control their career and decisions.