This is a scene we rarely see in Chinese diplomacy. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s joke about spying on his South Korean counterpart made headlines in Seoul on Monday (Nov. 3) due to its unexpected nature.
The exchange took place on Saturday, November 1, in Gyeongju, a city in southeastern South Korea, when the president of this state, Lee Jae-myung, and China’s Xi Jinping offered each other gifts on the sidelines of the Apec economic summit, which marked the leader’s first visit to South Korea in more than ten years.
“Xi bursts out laughing.”
The joke was about two Xiaomi (a Chinese company) smartphones equipped with Korean-made screens that Xi Jinping gave to Lee Jae-myung. Pointing to the phones, Mr Lee said: “Is the communication line secure?”, a joke obviously about possible Chinese eavesdropping, which made Xi Jinping laugh.
In computing, a backdoor is software preinstalled on a device that bypasses security mechanisms and can, for example, allow surveillance of a phone by a third party.
This brief episode sparked intense media interest because Xi Jinping rarely jokes in public, much less about espionage.
“Chat and connect”
The sequence illustrates the rapprochement of the two leaders during two-day meetings, Lee’s spokesman, Kim Nam-jun, told AFP. They were held as part of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) leaders’ summit held in Gyeongju.
“From welcome ceremonies and gift exchanges, to banquets and cultural performances, the two leaders had multiple opportunities to discuss and establish personal bonds,” he added. “Without those connections, this type of prank would not have been possible.”
The Chinese leader had not visited South Korea since 2014, when the two countries saw their relations undermined by a series of disputes. On this occasion, Xi Jinping described the two countries as “partners that cannot be separated.”
Source: BFM TV
