‘It looks like …’: What Joe Biden thinks of Xi Jinping's armoured limousine

US President recently welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington and while several high-level talks took place, there was time for some light-hearted exchanges as well. One such exchange took place when Biden managed to sneak in a close look at Xi's official limousine.

The official car of Xi is a stretched Hongqi limousine which is codenamed N701 and was transported to the US for his official visit to the country. And while it may have been his first US visit in six years, some of the spotlight was squarely placed on Xi's limousine as well.

One such conversation around the vehicle between Xi and Biden was caught on camera where the US President is heard expressing his opinion about the Hongqi vehicle which was parked to ferry Xi. “That's a beautiful vehicle," Biden is heard saying, promptly translated by an official for Xi."It looks like that Cadillac we have over here. In international meetings, they fly that with me. You know what they call that car? They call it The Beast."

Biden's official limousine is a stretched Cadillac that is built on a heavy-duty GMC TopKick truck platform. It is propelled by a Duramax diesel engine and reportedly weighs over 8,000 kilos due to the array of armour and other safety fittings all around. But much of the specific details around the vehicle is kept confidential owing to the sensitive nature of its tasks.

This is also true about the specific details of Xi's vehicle which is made by China's Hongqi, a sub-brand of the FAW Group. It is powered by a six-litre V12 engine and has a sizeable weight to it as well. It too is equipped with a slew of high-tech security features and gets layered armoured protection on the doors and windows.