The leaders of the world’s two superpowers had earlier wrapped up four hours of talks in San Francisco when the US president pulled out his phone and showed his Chinese counterpart a photo.
“Do you know this young man?” Joe Biden asked, according to Chinese state media. “Yes,” replied Xi Jinping, smiling. “That was me 38 years ago.”
The image showed a young Xi standing next to the Golden Gate Bridge on his first-ever visit to the US in 1985, when he was a little-known provincial leader. “You haven’t changed a bit!” said Biden.