Kremlin-style immortality: the microphone betrayed Putin and Xi Jinping
3 September 2025 20:53
In Beijing, during a live broadcast of a military parade, a microphone accidentally recorded a private conversation between Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, and DPRK leader Kim Jong Un about longevity and the prospects of living to be 150.
This was reported byBloomberg, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
The dialogue was broadcast live, which looks especially contrasting against the backdrop of the Chinese authorities’ tight control over any public messages and images of the leaders.
The recording lasted less than a minute. At first, Xi Jinping referred to “these days” and “70 years” in Chinese. The translator explained his words:
“In the past, people rarely lived to be 70 years old, but today, at 70, you are still a child.”
In response, Putin said that the development of biotechnology would allow for organ transplants in the future and possibly achieve near immortality:
“Human organs can be transplanted all the time, and people will be able to live longer and longer.”
Xi Jinping then added that scientists predict that this century there is a chance to live to be 150 years old.
The agency notes that the topic of age and health is not accidental – none of the three leaders has yet identified successors.
- xi Jinping, 72, has abolished presidential term limits and may run for a fourth term in 2027.
- putin, 72, has rewritten the laws to allow him to remain in power for a long time.
- kim Jong-un, 41, took his daughter with him to a parade in Beijing, fueling rumors that she was being groomed as a possible heir.
Thus, the accidental audio recording provided a rare glimpse into the private thoughts of the world’s autocrats-not about geopolitics or weapons, but about their own longevity and fear of aging.
This is not the first time such “microphone leaks” have become a news scandal:
- In 2022, U.S. President Joe Biden accidentally called a journalist a “stupid son of a bitch” while the microphone was on.
- In 2011, then-French President Nicolas Sarkozy privately called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a “liar,” and this was also leaked to the press.
- The Chinese authorities usually carefully screen out such incidents, so the current situation with the broadcast of the conversation between Xi, Putin, and Kim was exceptional and caused a significant media outcry.
Analysts say that fear for power and age unite these three leaders as much as common political interests.
