Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks during the opening ceremony of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China Oct. 16, 2022. — REUTERS

GYEONGJU, South Korea/BEIJING — Chinese President Xi Jinping gifted South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung a pair of Xiaomi smartphones and jokingly urged him to “check if there’s a backdoor,” during a state visit on Saturday that capped the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

Mr. Lee hosted Mr. Xi at a state summit and dinner after the APEC leaders’ meeting in the South Korean city of Gyeongju, marking Mr. Xi’s first visit to the US ally in 11 years.

The choice of the gift —China-made Xiaomi devices brought to the home country of smartphone giant Samsung Electronics — underscored Mr. Xi’s technological ambitions, recently reinforced in China’s economic development plan for the next five years.

After Mr. Lee presented Mr. Xi with “the finest” wooden board for ancient strategy game Go, the pair walked over to the smartphones wrapped in black boxes and an official noted the displays on the devices were made in South Korea.

Mr. Lee lifted one of the boxes and looked at it. He then asked Mr. Xi: “How is the communication security?” Upon which Mr. Xi and other gathered officials erupted in laughter. Mr. Xi then pointed at the phones and responded: “You can check if there’s a backdoor.”

A backdoor risk refers to a hidden method of bypassing normal authentication or security controls.

Both leaders laughed, and Mr. Lee clapped his hands as they proceeded with the presentation of gifts, which also included a traditional Korean mother-of-pearl inlay lacquered tray.

Mr. Xi’s comment harkened back to concerns expressed by China over a US proposal for advanced chips sold abroad to be equipped with tracking and positioning functions that prompted US chipmaker Nvidia to say its chips had no “backdoors.”

China’s foreign ministry and Xiaomi did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment on the exchange. Mr. Lee’s office said it had no separate comment on Mr. Xi’s gifts.

At the summit, Mr. Lee sought Mr. Xi’s help in efforts to resume talks with nuclear-armed neighbor North Korea, while Mr. Xi told Mr. Lee he was willing to widen cooperation and jointly tackle the challenges they face.

In other recent off-the-cuff remarks by Mr. Xi, a hot mic caught the Chinese leader and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussing organ transplants and the possibility that humans could live to 150 years at a military parade in Beijing in September. — Reuters

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