CHINA: Nothing, it seems, is sacred in the murky world of international espionage. Not even pillow talk escapes the interest of the spooks.
So President Jiang Zemin of China found recently when a tiny, satellite-operated listening device was found in the headboard of his bed in a new luxury presidential jet.
The bug was one of 27 found on the customised Boeing 767-300ER shortly after it arrived in China from the US last autumn where it had been fitted with VIP equipment. Another was found in the presidential bathroom.
The Financial Times and the Washington Post reported this weekend that Chinese intelligence officers found the sophisticated bugs just before the aircraft's planned maiden voyage. The reports quoted Chinese officials as accusing US agencies of planting the devices while it was being refitted in the United States.
The bugs were detected after the jet emitted a strange static whine during test flights in China. Details of the discovery have emerged at an embarrassing time as President Bush and President Jiang prepare for next month's summit in Beijing. Mr Jiang is said to be furious about the find.
The White House and CIA and declined to comment this weekend. A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said she could not comment on the report. However, the State Council Information Office has summoned foreign reporters to a press conference in Beijing today.
With relations improving between the US and China, it is unlikely the find will cause a rift. There has been no official communication between the governments and China has not lodged an official protest.
The United States and China clashed over espionage in April last year when a Chinese fighter jet and US spy plane collided over the South China Sea. The crash resulted in the death of the Chinese pilot and the grounding of the US plane in China.
President Jiang is the first communist Chinese leader to have his own presidential jet. Up to now the President and other senior leaders have used national carrier, Air China, for most foreign trips.
The aircraft was built at the Boeing factory in Seattle and then fitted with VIP equipment and upholstery by another company. Chinese officials are puzzled as to how and when the bugs were planted, as it was under surveillance by Chinese officials through out the work period.