Chinese leader Xi Jinping was caught chatting about the possibility of living to 150 in a hot-mic moment with Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Wednesday.
The conversation between China’s 72-year-old leader and his Russian and North Korean counterparts was picked up on a live video feed as they walked side by side toward a viewing platform to watch China’s massive military parade in Tiananmen Square. The parade ostensibly served to mark the 80th anniversary of Japan’s defeat in World War II but is being viewed by many observers in the West as a display of Beijing firepower and key partnerships challenging a US-led world order.
The rare hot-mic moment came immediately after a group photo of the 26 international leaders gathered in Beijing. After the photo, Xi, Putin and Kim led the group to their seats, chatting via interpreters in a conversation that was partially picked up by microphones.
The audio cuts in and out, but at the start Xi can be heard telling Kim in Mandarin: “I’m also very happy. It’s been a long time since we last met.” Kim replies via a translator that it’s been six years since they last saw each other.
Later in the video, Xi is heard saying in his native language: “Now people in their 70s are still young.”
After a wide angle shot of the three leaders in which it’s difficult to distinguish who is speaking, a Russian interpreter appears to translate Xi’s words, telling Putin: “Earlier, people rarely lived past 70, but these days at 70 years…” The audio becomes hard to hear, but the sentence concludes with “still a child.”
Moments later, as they walk up a slope toward the Tiananmen rostrum, a Mandarin translator, presumably translating for Putin, can be overheard saying to Xi: “In a few years, with the development of biotechnology, human organs can be constantly transplanted so that (people) can live younger and younger, and even become immortal.”
Xi then says: “The prediction is that in this century humans may live to 150 years old.”
The Russian translator relays that to Putin, roughly repeating the same line: “There are predictions that in our time, people will live up to 150 years.”
Putin later confirmed to reporters that the two men had been discussing living to 150. “Modern means of healing, and medical means, all kinds of surgical means related to organ replacement, they allow humanity to hope that active life will continue not as it does today,” he said. “The average age in different countries is different, but nevertheless, life expectancy will increase significantly.”
The Chinese and Russian leaders, both 72, have avoided appointing clear successors.
Xi, who is China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong, was reappointed by China’s rubber-stamp legislature to be president for another five-year term in 2023. In 2018, China’s legislature abolished presidential term limits in a ceremonial vote, effectively allowing Xi to rule for life.
During his time in power, Xi has greatly expanded the Chinese Communist Party’s hold on power – and his own grip over the party.
Putin, now in his third decade as Russia’s leader, sailed to a fifth term in office last year. In 2020, he forced through a referendum for constitutional changes that allow him to stay in power until 2036.
At age 41, Kim is young enough to potentially rule for decades to come. But he sparked discussions about a possible successor in Beijing on Wednesday, after a young girl was seen walking behind him – believed to be his daughter, Kim Ju Ae.
North Korea has been ruled by the Kim family since its founding in 1948. Kim Il Sung’s son, Kim Jong Il, took over after his father’s death in 1994, and Kim Jong Un took power 17 years later when Kim Jong Il died.
Given the significance of the family dynasty, the public debut of Kim’s daughter raised questions as to whether she might become his successor. Some experts say that Kim’s two other children would likely be chosen as successors instead, with public appearances with his young daughter perhaps intended to paint him as a family man.
