The United States orders passengers on Air Force One to dispose of gifts, pins and burnt phones after the China flight

President Trump and a delegation of US officials left Beijing on Friday after two days of high-level talks with the Chinese government led by President Xi Jinping.

Before boarding Air Force One, White House staff and reporters had to turn in several items collected during the flight, including staff cell phones, credential badges, and Chinese-issued lapel pins. Passengers on Air Force One threw the items in a trash can at the bottom of the plane’s stairs, according to a journalist in the White House press pool.

“Nothing from China is allowed on board,” Emily Gooden, a White House correspondent for the New York Post, wrote in a post on X.

Photos from the trip show several people in the US government delegation, including Trump, White House communications director Stephen Cheung, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, and Secret Service agents, all sporting pins on the lapels of their coats.

Godin did not explain why officials and journalists had to get rid of these items, although it was likely for security reasons. Although the summit seemed friendly, China remains a major adversary of the United States, given its advanced intelligence and espionage capabilities. The United States and its allies have long accused China of spying and carrying out cyber attacks.

It is not far-fetched to think that some gifts could be hacked, as governments have done before. It is also reasonable to assume that mobile phones were likely targeted during the flight. Temporary phones are designed to be new, dedicated devices that can be used where attacks can be assumed and then disposed of later.

White House spokespeople did not immediately respond to a request for comment.