It would take someone with nerves of steel to joke about the security of Chinese smartphones in front of Xi Jinping.
Step forward the South Korean president, Lee Jae Myung, who, after being given a pair of smartphones by the Chinese leader before their state banquet at the weekend, wondered out loud if the devices were secure.
Xi, who is not known for public displays of humour, laughed and smiled as Lee’s quip was translated into Chinese, before displaying some sharp wit of his own.
Pointing at the phones, he invited Lee to “check if there is a backdoor” – prompting laughs and applause from his South Korean counterpart.
The lighthearted exchange took place as Xi and Lee exchanged gifts on the sidelines of the Apec summit in the South Korean city of Gyeongju – Xi’s first visit to the country in more than a decade.
The Chinese president presented two Xiaomi smartphones fitted with Korean-made displays to Lee, who said: “Is the communication line secure?”
Pointing at the phones, still in their boxes, Xi replied: “You should check if there is a backdoor” – a reference to pre-installed software that could allow third-party monitoring.
The US has warned that Chinese smartphones and the apps they use may have “backdoors” that could be used by hackers to exploit weak links in other countries’ cyber defences. The Chinese government has denied allegations of cyber espionage.
The leaders’ conversation, captured by TV cameras, generated huge media interest in South Korea as Xi rarely cracks jokes, especially on a subject as sensitive as espionage.
“Xi bursts into laughter after Lee jokes about security of Xiaomi Phones,” a headline in the Seoul Shinmun newspaper said on Monday.
The interaction was a particularly rare glimpse of Xi unfiltered. One of the only other times in recent memory was in September at a Chinese military parade in Beijing, when a hot mic caught a conversation between Xi and probably the world’s two other most secretive leaders – North Korea’s Kim Jong-un and Russia’s Vladimir Putin – discussing organ transplants and immortality.
A state media live feed of the trio walking into Tiananmen Square caught Putin’s interpreter saying in Chinese: “Biotechnology is continuously developing.”
“Human organs can be continuously transplanted. The longer you live, the younger you become, and even achieve immortality,” he added.
Off camera, Xi responded: “Some predict that in this century humans may live to 150 years old.”
Clips of the Xi-Lee exchange in Gyeongju have attracted online interest, with one YouTube user comparing the encounter to “martial arts masters trading lines in a duel”.
Lee’s spokesperson, Kim Nam-joon, said the moment of levity was proof that the two leaders had bonded during several meetings at the two-day summit.
“From welcoming ceremonies and gift exchanges to a banquet and cultural performances, both leaders had multiple opportunities to engage and build personal chemistry,” Kim said. “If it weren’t for such chemistry, that kind of joke would not have been possible.”
Xi did not leave empty-handed. Lee gave him a hand-carved Go board and a mother-of-pearl tray, among other gifts.
Xi, who like Lee is a keen player of the ancient strategy board game, described the board as “exquisite”, according to South Korean media.
• Agence France-Presse contributed to this report
