<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Xi Jinping is not known for his easy smiles.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>China's most powerful Communist leader in decades has built a reputation reinforced by state media during his 12-year rule as a serious and steady hand.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But images released by the White House show a different side of Xi – and one not apparent in images published at home.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.nine.com.au/sport/horse-racing/melbourne-cup-results-2025-winner-half-yours-jamie-melham-jockey-tony-calvin-mcevoy-trainer-20251104-p5n7pg.html" target="_blank"><strong><span>History made as Half Yours wins Melbourne Cup</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Xi attended the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea, where he met US President Donald Trump for a bilateral meeting at Gimhae Air Base in Busan.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>All eyes were on how the leaders of the world's two biggest economies would sort out their differences on a range of topics from soybeans and fentanyl to rare earth minerals and high-end computer chips.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But aside from the hard-hitting diplomacy, photographs released by the White House captured a rare candid moment between the two leaders.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/the-white-house-has-shared-images-of-xi-jinping-that-most-chinese-dont-see-at-home/9a03bb62-86e5-4b36-ae5e-ad5c5c46ab9d" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In a room filled with suited diplomats, Trump was seen in one image with his arm stretched across the negotiation table to show Xi a piece of paper.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Whatever was written or printed on the paper remains unknown.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In another image, the Chinese leader appears to grin with his eyes shut, with Foreign Minister Wang Yi laughing by his side.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It's unclear if the images were arranged in chronological order.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Two days later, Xi was caught on camera cracking a joke when he exchanged gifts with South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung, according to a Reuters video.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Lee first presented Xi with a wooden board for the chess game </span><em><span>Go</span></em><span>. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Then, the Chinese leader gave Lee and his wife two China-made Xiaomi phones, which an official said came with displays made in South Korea, home to electronic giants Samsung and LG.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Lee then jokingly asked: "How is the communication security?" drawing laughter from the room.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Xi, who was also laughing at this point, replied: "You can check if there's a backdoor."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A backdoor risk refers to a hidden method of accessing a user's device without them knowing.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The issue has prompted a raft of allegations between China and other countries.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/torre-dei-conti-collapse-medieval-tower-in-rome-partially-collapses-during-renovations-injuring-worker/2e0e2ebd-1b3f-4f7c-b582-180e405c39ea" target="_blank"><strong><span>Tragic end to medieval tower collapse in Rome</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Beijing has recently expressed concerns over a US proposal to have advanced chips sold abroad fitted with tracking, a suggestion that prompted US chipmaker Nvidia to say its chips had no "backdoors."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Meanwhile, numerous Western countries have raised cybersecurity concerns regarding certain China-made devices.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The two off-the-cuff moments from Xi contrast with his carefully crafted image at home, where he was recently shown presiding over a military parade in a Mao suit, an outfit associated with Mao Zedong, Communist China's founding father.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Before his meeting with Trump, he chaired a party plenum, delivering speeches in a stoic demonstration of his tight control over China's political apparatus.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Not all Chinese leaders projected such a tightly constructed image.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Xi's predecessor Jiang Zemin, who served as president between 1993 and 2003, was known for his flamboyant personality, cosmopolitan flair and willingness to show off his language skills and interact with journalists.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>However, Xi has charted a different course.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Along with curbing freedom of expression in China, he has maintained strict control of his image and the flow of information.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Elite politics has become so opaque under his rule that pundits look for any clue for China's direction – from parsing Xi's words for their real meaning to assessing the colour of his hair.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Xi's more relaxed international appearances in South Korea barely made it to China's tightly controlled internet.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Censors often remove any coverage of Xi that deviates from the official narrative in the country, where most Western news websites and social media platforms are banned.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Footage and images showing Xi's light-hearted exchanges with his US and South Korean counterparts were nowhere to be found on two of the country's most popular social media platforms: Douyin, China's version of TikTok, and Xiaohongshu.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A few posts by Chinese-language news outlets based outside of China that reported Xi's gift exchange with South Korea's Lee were available on X-like platform Weibo.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The posts only displayed a few users' comments despite hundreds of messages.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Among the reactions that survived, one user posted a thumbs-up emoji and another left a smiling face.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS 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