Smartphone gift dials up new trends

When State leaders go abroad on high-profile visits, what's not on the official agenda may be as widely watched as the formal functions.

The gifts they give and their wardrobe choices can affect the status of those products as well as fashion trends. They may also send subtle signals about their country.

That is why a Chinese ZTE smartphone made ripples across cyberspace when President Xi Jinping gave one as a gift during a visit to Tajikistan this month.