BEIJING, May 15 - After talks on trade, Taiwan and Iran, Chinese President Xi Jinping gave U.S. President Donald Trump a rare tour of the centuries-old trees in Beijing's walled-off Zhongnanhai compound.
A former imperial garden that now houses the offices of the ruling Communist Party and the state council, the compound is adjacent to the Forbidden City and off Tiananmen Square.
A hot mic captured the leaders' remarks. Trump expressed surprise that some 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. "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 if other foreign leaders were also received there. "Very rarely," Xi responded. "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.
