Putin, Xi, and Kim Jong-Un in Beijing on Wednesday. Photo: Sergey Bobylev / AFP
Chinese President Xi Jinping mused about the possibility of living to 150 during a private conversation with Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that was accidentally broadcast live, according to a Bloomberg report.
The exchange occurred as the three leaders ascended the Tiananmen Gate in Beijing to attend a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of Japan’s defeat in World War II.
The audio, which lasted less than a minute, captured only fragments of the conversation. Speaking in Chinese, Xi said that in modern times people in their 70s are still young, unlike in the past when few reached that age. His words were rendered into Russian by a translator:
“Earlier, people rarely lived to 70, but these days at 70 years you are still a child.”
Putin responded, but his voice was barely audible. However, a translator then conveyed the Russian leader’s remarks into Chinese:
“With the development of biotechnology, human organs can be continuously transplanted, and people can live younger and younger, and even achieve immortality.”
Xi concluded:
“Predictions are, this century, there’s a chance of also living to 150.”
The conversation came just minutes before Xi delivered a speech honoring China’s wartime victory against Japan. After that, the leaders observed a parade featuring China’s latest weaponry.
A Sept. 2 news segment that aired on Russian state-controlled Channel One may have been alluding to this story. As part of its coverage of Putin’s trip to China, the network broadcast excerpts from an interview with Russian Minister of Agriculture Oksana Lut, who noted that discussions during the visit had touched on policies concerning the trade in “the antlers of young deer and of live deer. It may sound strange, but the Chinese have great respect for deer antler products. They provide a lot of energy.”
