BERLIN >> As the leaders of China and Russia walked to the viewing platform at a military parade in Beijing today, they made small talk about living forever.

Xi Jinping, China’s leader, mused that people might soon live to 150. President Vladimir Putin of Russia, speaking through a translator, said that organ transplants could allow humans to achieve “immortality.”

The fragments of banter were captured by a microphone and broadcast live by Chinese state news media from the parade celebrating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. It was a hot mic moment that shed light on how medical advances are intersecting with geopolitics, given that both Putin and Xi, who are both 72, have suggested they may want to stay in power for years to come.

Asked about the comments in a news confe

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