Population, not immortality.

"Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin have been overheard discussing organ transplants as a means of prolonging life on the sidelines of a military parade in Beijing. Putin suggested even eternal life could be achievable as a result of innovations in biotechnology, according to a translation of remarks caught on hot mic." BBC. This has been gleefully reported by the Western media probably to hint at two megalomaniac dictators aspiring to immortality. However, the conversation could be entirely reasonable. The total fertility rate (TFR) in Russia has dropped to 1.4 births per woman and in China it was even more dire at 1.0 births per woman in 2023. World Bank. The global population may peak at 9.8 billion in the 2070s and there is a possibility of a human population collapse as countries and their people become more wealthy. Bloomberg. "Parents in China are being offered 3,600 yuan ($500) a year for each of their children under the age of three in the government's first nationwide subsidy aimed at boosting birthrates." "The handouts will help around 20 million families with the cost of raising children, according to state media." BBC. "A Russian region is offering a payment of 100,000 rubles (about Rs 81,000) to female students under 25 who give birth to a healthy baby. This initiative aims to support the country's population growth amidst historic lows in birth rates, a Moscow Times report stated." ET. In 2003, Singapore even tried a "Love Boat" for couples to relax and have sex away from the stresses of home. Time Magazine. All these inducements fail because people cannot afford the financial cost of rearing a child and do not want the interference with their careers. Putin and Xi may have been discussing how to increase their populations by increasing the lifespan of existing people by replacing diseased organs. China could and did impose a brutal one-child policy to control population (Britannica) but even the most brutal state cannot induce its people to produce children. Unfortunately, replacing kidneys and hearts may extend life but will be of no use if the brain fails. "Human cephalosomatic (head and body) anastomosis and transplantation has never been realized before due to the inability of fusion regarding spinal cords of the donor and the recipient. Innovatively, according to the allegations of Canavero et al, recent advances (ultrasharp neurosurgical blades, application of fusogens, electrostimulation) can confront this obstacle and make such a challenging procedure to be feasible and worth attempting," wrote Grigorios Gkasdaris & Theodossios Birbilis. Attaching the head of another person on Xi Jinping's body is of no use and attaching his senile brain to an athletic young man's body may allow him to participate in a marathon but will not control the Communist Party. Cloning is an option (Britannica) but the original Xi will be dead and forgotten before the clone becomes an adult. Also, there is a danger of a rogue scientist secretly creating a clone army (wikipedia) to overthrow the Party. Whatever they may be, Putin and Xi are no fools. They must have been discussing ways of increasing their populations and not making themselves immortal, despite the sneering propaganda of the Western media. Misuse of hot mic.