When Russian president Vladimir Putin walked shoulder to shoulder with Chinese president Xi Jinping on Wednesday, a hot mic caught them discussing organ transplants and the possibility that humans could live to 150 years old.
The moment came as Mr Putin and Mr Xi walked with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un at the head of a delegation of more than two dozen foreign leaders to view a military parade in Beijing marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.
The moment was carried on the livestream provided by state broadcaster CCTV to other media, including AP and Reuters. China’s radio and TV administration said CCTV’s coverage of the event was viewed 1.9 billion times online and by more than 400 million on TV.
As Mr Putin and Mr Xi walked toward the Tiananmen rostrum where they viewed the parade with Kim, Mr Putin’s translator could be heard saying in Chinese: “Biotechnology is continuously developing.”
The translator added, after an inaudible passage: “Human organs can be continuously transplanted. The longer you live, the younger you become, and (you can) even achieve immortality.”
In response, Mr Xi, who was off camera, can be heard responding in Chinese: “Some predict that in this century humans may live to 150 years old.”
Mr Kim was smiling and looking in the direction of Mr Putin and Mr Xi, but it was not clear if the conversation was being translated for him. Mr Putin cannot be heard speaking clearly in Russian in the CCTV clip.
Mr Putin confirmed later that he and Mr Xi had discussed the subject on Wednesday.
“I think when we went to the parade, the chairman talked about it,” Mr Putin told reporters in Beijing when asked about the leaked conversation.
“Modern means of health improvement, medical means, even surgical ones related to organ replacement, they allow humanity to hope that active life will continue differently than it does today,” he said.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and CCTV did not immediately respond to requests from Reuters for comment.
As Mr Xi began speaking, the video cut to a wide shot of Tiananmen Square and the audio faded.
Just over 30 seconds later, Mr Xi, Mr Putin and Mr Kim reappeared on camera as they walked on the steps toward the viewing platform for the parade.
At the event, Mr Xi told a crowd of more than 50,000 spectators the world faced a choice of “peace or war” as he inspected troops and cutting-edge military equipment, including hypersonic missiles and naval drones.
Mr Putin arrived in China on Sunday to attend a summit organised by Beijing that convened more than 20 leaders of non-Western countries, including Indian prime minister Narendra Modi.
Mr Putin and Mr Xi signed more than 20 agreements on subjects ranging from energy to artificial intelligence, and agreed to build a major new gas pipeline, without announcing key details on financing or the pricing of the gas to be sent to China.
