Xi gives Trump rare tour of secret garden at heart of Chinese government

BEIJING - After talks on trade, Taiwan and Iran, Chinese President Xi Jinping showed off the centuries-old trees in Beijing's walled-off Zhongnanhai compound, where he strolled with U.S. President Donald Trump in the concluding 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 famed landmark of the Forbidden City and off 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 gestured towards some towering trunks. "Over there, there are some more than 400 years old."

Trump replied, "They live that long?"

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. "At first, 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 towards Tiananmen Square to watch Beijing's military parade.

(Reporting by Mei Mei Chu; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect.

This story was originally published May 14, 2026 at 11:48 PM.