Xi gives Trump rare tour inside China's secretive power compound

15 May 2026 , 21:39

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Xi gives Trump rare tour inside China's secretive power compound

After discussions on trade, Taiwan, and Iran, Chinese President Xi Jinping showcased the centuries-old trees in Beijing’s walled-off Zhongnanhai compound, where he walked with U.S. President Donald Trump in the final hours of their summit.

A former imperial garden that now houses the offices of the ruling Communist Party and the state council, or China’s cabinet, the compound is adjacent to the capital’s famous landmark, the Forbidden City, and near Tiananmen Square.

A hot mic captured the leaders’ remarks, in which Trump expressed surprise that some of the trees were 1,000 years old.

"Let me tell you, all the trees on this side are over 200 to 300 years old," Xi said through an interpreter, as he pointed to some towering trunks. "Over there, there are some more than 400 years old."

Trump replied, "They live that long?"

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Xi added, "There are also 1,000-year-old trees in other places."

Trump asked Xi if other foreign leaders were also received in the compound.

"Very rarely," Xi responded. "Initially, we usually didn’t hold diplomatic events here. Even after we started having some, it’s still extremely rare. For example, Putin has been here."

Then he invited Trump to touch a 280-year-old tree.

"Good. I like it," Trump replied.

The moment offered a rare glimpse of informal interactions between heads of states.

In September, a hot mic captured Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussing organ transplants and the possibility that humans could live to the age of 150 as they walked toward Tiananmen Square to watch Beijing’s military parade.

Emily Hughes

Money & Markets Editor