RTI: Putin Holds Secrets About Xi Jinping’s Health – “981 Leaders’ Health Project” Resurfaces

Top-tier hospitals in China (Video screenshot) 

[People News] A private conversation between Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin during the Beijing military parade was made public worldwide. The two leaders discussed extending human life through organ transplants. A Taiwanese expert believes Putin raised the issue of “immortality” because he knew the secret that Xi’s health has seriously deteriorated. This revelation has also brought back public attention to the CCP’s “981 Leaders’ Health Project,” which was designed to extend top officials’ lives through advanced medical means, including organ transplantation.

Although the Beijing parade has ended, the shocking “organ transplant” and “immortality” conversation between Xi and Putin continues to make headlines across international media.

Taiwanese strategic expert Yang Tai-yuan told Radio Taiwan International that Putin likely raised the subject because he knew Xi Jinping’s health was in trouble and wanted to “encourage” him with talk of longevity.

Yang observed that Xi looked unwell, his complexion poor, and his parade speech unusually short and weak. He believes Xi’s health has already hit a “red alert.” However, he stressed Xi is surrounded by world-class medical teams, so his life is not in immediate danger.

During the parade, Xi appeared abnormal: unsteady on his feet, blinking uncontrollably, nodding involuntarily, looking pale and drained, and speaking feebly.

At the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tianjin, just before the parade, Xi’s skin tone was strikingly dark—darker than during his Tibet visit—prompting speculation about liver and kidney problems or circulatory issues. Some independent media even claimed Xi underwent a kidney transplant in May.

Since rumors of a stroke following the 2023 Third Plenum, Xi has been mired in health crises.

Photos from Xi’s August 2023 meeting with Vietnam’s Communist Party leader Su Lin showed a bald patch on the lower right side of his head, suggesting he may have undergone brain surgery. This fueled a second wave of stroke rumors.

Other evidence points to chronic health decline. Taiwanese scholar Tsai Wen-hsuan noted that since 2017, Chinese state TV often avoids filming Xi walking. After 2019, his steps became shuffling and uneven—his left leg could bear weight, but his right leg struggled. This indicated an irreversible trend in his health.

During Xi’s 2024 France visit, he walked unsteadily, used an opaque black cup instead of the standard clear glasses, and his interpreter kept a wheelchair ready in the background.

A Russian Foreign Intelligence Service report submitted to the Kremlin on June 9 stated Xi was gravely ill, suffering frequent heart attacks between May 25 and early June. Doctors warned that continuing public appearances could be dangerous.

Rumors claim Xi suffers from multiple conditions: Parkinson’s disease, hypothyroidism, heart disease, kidney failure, fatty liver (due to alcohol consumption), and even cirrhosis.

Their private exchange about longevity reminded many of the CCP’s “981 Leaders’ Health Project”, which reportedly sought to extend top officials’ lifespans to 150 years via organ transplants.

In 2019, a viral WeChat advertisement promoted the PLA General Hospital (301 Hospital) as part of the “981 Project,” claiming it could extend leaders’ lives to 150 years.

According to video clips obtained by Radio Free Asia, the project boasted of combining “Chinese health traditions with Western medical technology,” focusing on cancer prevention, cardiovascular health, anti-aging, chronic disease management, organ regeneration, and lifestyle medicine.

The video highlighted the “150-Year Longevity Program” as one of its three core projects. Although later removed, Baidu entries still describe “981” as a major initiative for the health of “social elites,” launched in 2005 and involving top specialists from the PLA 301 Hospital, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, and related institutes.

The project reportedly employed:

  • 7 chief medical experts for top leaders,

  • Over 30 senior health specialists,

  • More than 170 consulting experts (chief physicians and national discipline leaders),

  • 11 departments including cancer prevention, chronic disease management, and anti-aging medicine.

It specifically stated that its medical teams had years of experience serving CCP top leaders, with access to cutting-edge preventive and diagnostic technologies.

“981” was divided into three programs:

  1. Health Promotion Project (Anti-Aging)

  2. Youth Rejuvenation Project (Anti-Aging)

  3. 150-Year Longevity Project (Life Extension)

Chinese commentator Lu Qing pointed out that the CCP spends astronomical sums on the health of its top officials and senior military cadres. The annual budget for 301 Hospital alone equals the healthcare budget of an entire Chinese province with at least 30 million people. This means that the medical resources consumed to maintain just a few hundred to a thousand top officials could otherwise serve tens of thousands of ordinary citizens.