It’s an open secret that nations engage in intelligence gathering on one another. This unspoken reality is precisely why world leaders almost never discuss espionage publicly.
However, an unusual weekend saw this very topic become the punchline of a joke shared between China’s paramount leader, Xi Jinping, and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.
The humorous exchange centered on two cellphones that Mr. Xi gifted to Mr. Lee—one for himself and one for his wife—during their meeting in Gyeongju, South Korea, on Saturday. As news cameras rolled, a spokesman for Mr. Xi explained that the phones were manufactured by the Chinese company Xiaomi, featuring Korean-made displays.
President Lee picked up one of the boxed phones, admiring its design, before pointedly inquiring about its security features.
Mr. Xi responded with a laugh, saying, “You can check if there’s a backdoor,” a direct reference to preinstalled software that could allow third-party monitoring. This prompted Mr. Lee to laugh and clap his hands in apparent amusement.
This candid interaction was particularly noteworthy given that Mr. Xi seldom speaks off-script in public. It also veered sharply from the traditional “gentlemen’s agreement” among global leaders to largely ignore overt discussions of covert activities, as noted by John Delury, a China historian based in Seoul.
“What’s interesting here is they’re doing it in public, but they’re not acknowledging ‘I spy on you, you spy on me,’” Mr. Delury remarked. “They’re more ironically and playfully referencing the secret world of espionage and surveillance and laughing it off.”
For many years, the United States and its allies have consistently warned that Chinese technology could potentially be exploited for espionage purposes. Countries like the United States, Australia, and Britain have notably prohibited Huawei, a major Chinese tech firm, from their 5G mobile communication networks, citing its close ties to China’s ruling Communist Party.
The initial Trump administration also placed Xiaomi on a blacklist, cautioning American companies that engaging in business with the smartphone and electric car manufacturer could lead to exclusion from future Pentagon contracts.
Xiaomi subsequently challenged and successfully overturned its inclusion on the U.S. government’s blacklist, asserting that it had no connections to the Chinese military.
According to Mr. Delury, President Lee’s actions during his meeting with Mr. Xi on the sidelines of an international economic summit appeared to acknowledge prevalent concerns about Chinese products and China’s surveillance capabilities.
“But by joking about it, by using irony, ultimately he’s dismissing a lot of those concerns and saying, ‘Thank you for the phone and it’s great that Korean and Chinese companies are building it together,’” Delury commented.
This lighthearted exchange underscored both leaders’ commitment to strengthening their countries’ relationship through economic cooperation. This endeavor presents a complex challenge for South Korea, a vital U.S. ally, particularly as the rivalry between Washington and Beijing intensifies. Just last week in Gyeongju, Mr. Lee bestowed South Korea’s highest decoration upon President Trump, along with a replica of an ancient gold crown.
Domestically, Mr. Lee has faced criticism from a conservative opposition party that accuses him of aligning too closely with China. His predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, had previously voiced concerns about potential Chinese interference in South Korean elections, accusations that China has denied.
Governments typically only acknowledge spying on allies when compelled to do so. A notable instance occurred in 2013 when Edward Snowden’s revelations exposed that the United States had monitored German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone for over a decade. In response, President Barack Obama assured Ms. Merkel that such surveillance would cease.
Mobile phones are generally not considered appropriate diplomatic gifts due to the inherent security risks they pose, as explained by Patrick F. Walsh, a professor of intelligence and security studies at Charles Sturt University in Australia.
Regarding whether Mr. Lee will actually use the Xiaomi phones, Walsh commented, “Probably not.”
“I can’t imagine him saying ‘We’ve got this phone, I’ll talk to the Japanese prime minister or Washington on it,’” Mr. Walsh stated. “He might gift it to a granddaughter or something.”