President Trump and a delegation of US officials departed Beijing on Friday after two days of high-level talks with the Chinese government, led by President Xi Jinping.
Before boarding Air Force One, White House staff and reporters had to surrender various items collected during the trip, including staff phones, credential badges and China-issued lapel pins. Those traveling on Air Force One threw these items into a bin at the bottom of the plane’s stairs, according to a reporter at the White House press pool.
“Nothing from China is allowed on the plane,” wrote Emily Goodin, the New York Post’s White House correspondent. in a post on X.
Photos from the trip show several people in the US government delegation, including Trump, White House communications director Stephen Chung, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and Secret Service agents, sporting lapel pins.
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Were you on Air Force One’s trip to China for the summit? Do you have more information about ordering to drop items? From a non-working device, you can contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai securely on Signal at +1 917 257 1382 or via Telegram and Keybase @lorenzofb or via email.
Goodin did not explain why officials and reporters had to throw away these items, though it was probably for safety reasons. While the summit appeared cordial, China remains a key adversary of the United States given its advanced intelligence and espionage capabilities. The US and its allies have long accused China of spying and conducting cyber attacks.
It is not far-fetched to think that some of the endowed objects could be hacked, like governments have done before. It is also reasonable to assume that the burning phones were likely targeted during the trip. Combustion phones are designed to be new and exclusive devices that can be used where they can be attacked and later discarded.
White House spokespeople did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
