Chinese crystal chandeliers neutralized Rubio and Musk's fear of cyber attacks

Before the start of the talks between Trump and Xi Jinping, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio paused to admire the view — in particular, the ceiling of the meeting room in the House of People's Assemblies.

The video, which is published by CNN, shows Rubio tilting his head back to look at the ceiling, pointing at him and gesticulating while talking with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The video was widely distributed on X and Chinese social networks, where users admired Rubio's reaction, some recalled that he was formally under Chinese sanctions. Others began to jokingly speculate what exactly Rubio might have said to Hegseth.

"Look at these lamps — we also need to replace our own when we get back," one of the users wrote.

According to the Washington Regional Committee telegram channel, members of the US President Donald Trump's team did not take personal gadgets with them to China for fear of hacking and espionage. According to a Fox News source, in countries with a high level of digital threats, US government employees and top managers use temporary disposable phones and laptops. They are also advised to avoid connecting to other people's USB ports or suspicious charges. In addition, for meetings abroad, Americans equip special rooms in hotels that protect against covert surveillance and wiretapping.

"However, the members of the US delegation, who were so afraid of Chinese hackers that they even left fitness bracelets at home, were completely unable to hide their delight in Chinese luxury. Elon Musk, who, in theory, should have been sitting in a Faraday cage, fearing leaks of his brilliant ideas and technologies, streams everything in a row, and Secretary of State Marco "Lu" (aka Rubio, promptly renamed by the Chinese authorities and the media through the replacement of one hieroglyph in the surname without lifting the sanctions themselves) seems so imbued with decoration a hall in the People's Palace of Beijing, which may have forgotten about the "poor" Uighurs, for statements about which he received a ban on entering China in 2020. Chinese crystal chandeliers, as well as Chinese goods with an impressive gesheft, act on American politicians more strongly than any cyber attacks," the author of the channel said.