Xi and Putin Discuss ‘Immortality’ as China and Russia Ramp Up Longevity Research

Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the prospect of greatly extended human lifespans — even what they described as possible “immortality” — during a bilateral conversation that both leaders later confirmed and characterized as grounded in advances in biotechnology.

Translators for the two leaders quoted Xi as predicting that “in this century, humans may live to 150 years old,” and a Russian translator relayed a comment that organ transplants and other medical developments could allow people to “live younger and younger, and even become immortal.” Putin later addressed the exchange at a news conference with Russian reporters, saying modern health support, medicine and some surgeries involving organ transplants give hope that the active human lifespan could increase considerably.

The remarks and their confirmation resonated against a backdrop of growing state interest in longevity science in both countries. Officials and state-linked entities in Beijing and Moscow have in recent years directed more attention and funding toward biotechnology, regenerative medicine and organ transplantation, areas scientists say offer the clearest near-term routes to extending healthy human life.

Experts caution that broad gains in lifespan will depend on sustained scientific progress, regulatory frameworks and the ability to scale complex medical procedures. Advances in organ replacement, tissue engineering, molecular therapies and gene-targeting technologies have produced incremental improvements in treatment of age-related disease, but researchers say substantial extensions of the human active lifespan remain a scientific and logistical challenge.

Observers also noted a political dimension to the discussion. Peter Pomerantsev, a senior fellow at Johns Hopkins University’s SNF Agora Institute, wrote in 2022 that Putin has a “particularly acute” fear of death. Over the years, rumors — not substantiated by public medical evidence — have circulated about illnesses affecting the Russian leader, including cancer and Parkinson’s disease. The translation of the recent exchange and Putin’s public remarks reinforced perceptions that longevity research has attracted high-level interest in Moscow.

China has long signaled ambitions to lead in biotechnology, incorporating life sciences goals into national planning and encouraging collaboration between state research institutions and private firms. Beijing’s policy directives and funding priorities have supported growth in fields such as genomics, regenerative medicine and organ transplantation. Researchers in China and abroad have pointed to increased investment, new research centers and a growing entrepreneurial ecosystem as factors accelerating work on age-related biology.

In Russia, officials and public commentary have highlighted the potential of medical technologies to improve population health and extend productive working life. State-backed projects and the involvement of military and security-affiliated institutions in some biotechnology initiatives have drawn scrutiny from foreign analysts, who warn that strategic competition could shape the direction and governance of life‑science research.

Scientific leaders caution against overstating short-term prospects. Extending the active human lifespan involves tackling complex, multifactorial processes tied to genetics, environment and social determinants of health. While organ transplantation can replace failing organs and regenerative medicine aims to restore tissue function, scaling those interventions to benefit broad populations raises medical, ethical and economic questions.

The conversation between Xi and Putin and the leaders’ subsequent comments add a geopolitical layer to a global debate about longevity. As China and Russia channel attention and resources into anti‑aging and biotechnology research, policymakers, scientists and international observers face questions about regulation, equity, and how state support might accelerate or constrain particular lines of inquiry.

Both countries’ investments come as private-sector firms in other parts of the world pursue therapies intended to delay, prevent or reverse aspects of biological aging. The interplay between public funding, national strategic priorities and commercial activity will likely influence which technologies advance and how widely they are deployed.

For now, the leaders’ remarks underscore the symbolic as well as practical stakes of longevity research: scientific advances could reshape expectations about aging and health, but translating laboratory discoveries into safe, accessible and durable increases in human lifespan remains a complex, long-term endeavor.