Why Xi invited Trump to this highly secretive former imperial garden Zhongnanhai

[Tree]

Why Xi invited Trump to this highly secretive former imperial garden​

By
Jessie Yeung
,
Sylvie Zhuang
Updated 2 hr ago

US President Donald Trump spent his final morning in Beijing in Zhongnanhai — the highly secretive, tightly guarded leadership compound of China’s ruling Communist Party.

Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping strolled through its pristine gardens, with Trump admiring the roses and Xi offering to send seeds before they held talks over tea and lunch.

The central seat of power in China, the venue is sometimes compared to the White House or the Kremlin. Only a handful of American leaders have ever stepped beyond the centuries-old red ochre walls that separate the compound from the rest of the capital.

Security is extremely tight, with access to the compound overseen by an elite military unit responsible for the personal safety of top party leaders. Images of the enclosure are tightly censored and obscured on digital mapping platforms.


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Updated May 15, 2026, 4:36 AM ET Published May 15, 2026, 4:24 AM ET


Updated May 15, 2026, 4:36 AM ET

PUBLISHED May 15, 2026, 4:24 AM ET
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Xi says he chose Zhongnanhai venue as reciprocity for ...
Xi himself called attention to the location on Friday, saying he had chosen it as thanks for Trump hosting him at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida in 2017. That meeting was the first time the men had met, just a few months after Trump took office in his first term.

Zhongnanhai – which takes its name from two large lakes located within its grounds – “is the place where leaders of the (communist) party and the central government of China work and live, including myself,” Xi told Trump on Friday.”

“After the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, we (the communist party) have been here, including Chinese leaders: Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao and so on,” said Xi.

Zhongnanhai was once an imperial garden, used by emperors to relax and enjoy leisure time when they weren’t living and working in Beijing’s Forbidden City.

The gardens’ centuries-long history was a point of pride on Friday, with Xi pointing out the age of various trees in the compound — including a large tree one he said was about 490 years old. “In other places within this compound, there are trees that have lived to be over 1,000 years old,” Xi told Trump.

At one point, Xi encouraged Trump to touch the trees, voicing his appreciation for the garden’s life and history.

Later in their stroll, Trump remarked to Xi: “Nice place. I like it. I could get used to this.”

After China’s imperial era ended in 1912, Zhongnanhai was repurposed as a presidential compound. Decades later, Chairman Mao Zedong established it as the center of political power after the communist victory in China’s civil war.

Back then, Mao deliberately didn’t choose the Forbidden City for his office – wanting to distance the new China from its past failed imperial system. And, working and living in the previous emperor’s palace would have been inconsistent with the Communist Party ideology of “serving the people.”

Since then, Zhongnanhai has undergone significant razing and renovation, including the addition of office buildings, swimming pools, and more. Today, the 1,500-acre site boasts repurposed pavilions and temples, and is synonymous with the party’s elite.

Later during Xi and Trump’s stroll, video from Chinese state media shows, the two took photos in front of a room that was once used for ballroom dancing and to display foreign and Chinese films when the party leadership first moved to the compound.

Former US President Richard Nixon met Mao in Zhongnanhai during his groundbreaking trip in 1972 – the first time an American president had visited China.

Thirty years later, President George W. Bush also entered Zhongnanhai, alongside China’s then-President Jiang Zemin. The last US president to see Zhongnanhai was Barack Obama, who met Xi there in 2014, during which state media reported the two men discussed modern Chinese history.

At the time, Obama was invited to tour the rarely seen Yingtai artificial island, which sits isolated in the middle of a lake in Zhongnanhai. The hidden island holds special historical significance, and was once the place of imprisonment for an emperor near the end of Qing dynasty when he was stripped of power amid a failed coup.

 

[Tree]

Xi, Trump have private meeting in Beijing
en.cppcc.gov.cn

BEIJING -- Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump had a private meeting on Friday in the Zhongnanhai leadership compound in central Beijing.

The meeting came before Trump concluded his state visit to China and a day after the two leaders held formal talks.

Upon Trump's arrival at Zhongnanhai, Xi warmly welcomed him. The two heads of state walked and talked, occasionally stopping to admire the trees and flowers in the garden.

Noting that Trump's visit was a historic and landmark one, Xi said the two sides had set the new vision of building a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability.

"We had reached important common understandings on maintaining stable economic and trade ties, expanding practical cooperation in various fields, and properly addressing each other's concerns," Xi said.

The two sides also agreed to strengthen communication and coordination on international and regional issues, according to Xi.

The visit is conducive to enhancing mutual understanding, deepening mutual trust and improving the well-being of the two peoples, Xi said.

This once again demonstrates that it is a shared aspiration of both peoples and the expectation of people across the world for China and the United States to find a right path to get along with each other and to achieve peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation on the basis of mutual respect, Xi added.

"While President Trump hopes to make America great again, I am dedicated to leading the Chinese people toward national rejuvenation," Xi said, stressing that the two countries can advance their respective development and revitalization by strengthening cooperation.

China and the United States should implement the important common understandings that have been reached, cherish the hard-won positive momentum, keep to the right direction, steer clear of disruptions, and promote the steady development of bilateral relations, Xi said.

Trump said that he is very grateful to Xi for inviting him to visit Zhongnanhai, adding that his China visit was very successful, captured the world's attention and was unforgettable.

Trump said that the two sides had reached a series of important common understandings, signed a number of agreements, and resolved many problems, which were very beneficial to both countries and the world.

Noting that Xi is his old friend, Trump said that he has great respect for Xi and that they have established a good relationship. The U.S.-China relationship is very important and will definitely get better, he said.

Trump said that he is willing to continue to maintain sincere and in-depth communication with Xi, and warmly looks forward to hosting Xi in Washington, D.C.

The two sides also exchanged views on some regional hotspot issues.

Cai Qi, Wang Yi and He Lifeng attended the event.

 

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[superpower]

As long Trump keeps his hands off Taiwan, everything else is negotiable between China and the US. The Chinese are very pragmatic; they want trade, they want technology, they want to grow the economy to quell labour unrest, and they don't want war. But it comes to territory - Taiwan, HK, Macau, Tibet, Xinjiang - the red lines are drawn.

The painful memory of 150 years of humiliation where large tracts of Chinese land were repeatedly ceded to (and robbed by) Western powers and Japan still runs deep in the Chinese psyche.