As Putin and Xi were walking towards a raised platform in Tiananmen Square for the Victory Parade, the Russian leader’s interpreter could be heard saying in Chinese: “Biotechnology is continuously developing.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are known for their anti-West stance, and the two have often been caught discussing the same. However, the conversation between the two leaders took an unexpected turn after they started discussing organ transplantation and immortality.ย
Their conversation during a military parade in Beijing was also picked up by a hot microphone.
As Putin and Xi were walking towards a raised platform in Tiananmen Square to view the Victory Parade, the Russian leader’s interpreter could be heard saying in Chinese: “Biotechnology is continuously developing.” After a pause, the interpreter said, “Human organs can be continuously transplanted. The longer you live, the younger you become, and [you can] even achieve immortality.”
To this, Xi, who was off-camera, responded in Mandarin: “Some predict that in this century humans may live to 150 years old.”ย
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was also walking with Putin and Xi, and could be seen smiling while the two leaders discussed immortality and organ transplantation. However, it is not known whether the conversation was translated to him.ย
Meanwhile, the Russian and Chinese governments have not responded to Putin and Xi’s conversation yet.ย
Putin’s China visit
The Russian leader had arrived in China’s Tianjin on Sunday to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit. On the sidelines of the SCO Summit, he also held several bilateral meetings with many world leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On Wednesday, he, along with 26 world leaders, attended the Victory Parade in Beijing to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and China’s victory over Japan.ย ย
Xi says China’s rejuvenation is ‘unstoppable’
During the Victory Parade on Wednesday, Xi said that the rejuvenation of China is ‘unstoppable’. He also took a veiled dig at US President Donald Trump and said that China will “never get intimidated by any bullies and always forges ahead”.
“Only when nations across the world treat each other as equals, live in harmony and mutually support one another can common security be safeguarded, the root cause of war eliminated, and historical tragedies prevented from recurring,” he said. “Today, humanity is again faced with a choice between peace or war, dialogue or confrontation, and win-win outcomes or zero-sum games.”