Chinese President Xi Jinping is rarely seen smiling in public. For over a decade, the Chinese leader has projected an image of stoic authority, a persona carefully reinforced by state media. Yet, recently released photographs by the White House have revealed an unexpectedly candid side of Xi, one seldom seen in China’s tightly controlled media landscape.The photos, taken during high-stakes talks between the world’s two largest economies, show Xi sharing a lighter moment with former US President Donald Trump. In one image, Trump leans across the negotiation table to show Xi a piece of paper, its contents still unknown. In another, Xi is caught mid-grin, eyes nearly shut, as China’s foreign minister Wang Yi laughs beside him. Whether the photos were taken seconds apart or during separate exchanges remains unclear, but the contrast to Xi’s usual composure was striking.Adding to this uncharacteristic display, Xi was also seen sharing a moment of humour during trade discussions in South Korea. When South Korean President Lee jokingly asked whether their communication line was secure, Xi smiled, pointed to a pair of Xiaomi smartphones he had gifted, and quipped through an interpreter, “You can check if there’s a backdoor.” The lighthearted exchange, captured on video and widely circulated outside China, drew laughter from both leaders.But beneath the moment lay irony. The joke touched on one of the most sensitive issues in China’s relations with the West, allegations of espionage and cybersecurity risks involving Chinese technology. Such moments are rare for Xi, whose public persona is managed with military precision.Back home, Chinese state media maintained its familiar narrative. Domestic coverage focused on Xi presiding over a military parade in a Mao suit, a symbolic nod to Mao Zedong and his revolutionary legacy. Days before meeting Trump, Xi had chaired a key Communist Party plenum, reaffirming his authority and control over the nation’s political machinery, as cited by CNN.Unlike former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin, known for his eccentricity and openness, Xi has consolidated power through strict control over his image and the flow of information. Under his leadership, elite politics in China has become increasingly opaque, leaving analysts to search for clues, from the tone of his speeches to the colour of his hair, to interpret Beijing’s internal signals.Within China, Xi’s fleeting moments of humour have barely surfaced. Strict censorship ensures that content showing the leader in a more relaxed or unscripted manner is swiftly scrubbed from the internet. For a domestic audience accustomed to the solemn, unflinching face of power, these smiling photographs from the White House remain, quite literally, unseen in China.
