China's Xi jokes about ‘backdoor’ as he gifts Lee Xiaomi phones

Chinese President Xi Jinping presented South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung with a pair of Xiaomi smartphones on Saturday, quipping that he should “check if there’s a backdoor,” during a state visit that capped the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

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

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

After Lee presented Xi with "the finest" wooden board for the 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.

Lee lifted one of the boxes and looked at it. He then asked Xi: "How is the communication security?", upon which Xi and other gathered officials erupted in laughter. 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 Lee clapped his hands as they proceeded with the presentation of gifts, which also included a traditional Korean mother-of-pearl inlay lacquered tray.

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. Lee's office said it had no separate comment on Xi's gifts.

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

In other recent off-the-cuff remarks by 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.