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Beyond the crimson walls west of the Forbidden City, where broad lakes shimmer beside stately pavilions and lush greenery, Zhongnanhai has long stood as the secluded heart of Chinese power – a political sanctuary where phones fall silent and access is tightly controlled.
Yet there was a rare glimpse of the interior of the walled-off compound on Friday morning, as President Xi Jinping hosted Donald Trump for talks over tea and a working lunch in the final hours before the US president wrapped up a two-day state visit to Beijing.
Zhongnanhai, once an imperial garden, now serves as Xi’s official residence and the headquarters of China’s top leadership, housing offices of the ruling Communist Party and the State Council, or China’s cabinet.
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Generations of senior party and state leaders have lived and worked within the compound since the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949.
For decades, the compound has been among China’s most secretive sites, occupying an almost mythic role in most public imagination of Chinese politics – hidden behind high walls and guarded gates.
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On Friday, however, Xi briefly opened part of that world to his American guests, receiving them in a more casual setting than the formal talks on Thursday.
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