Obama gets less graceful welcome in China | Inquirer News

Obama gets less graceful welcome in China

/ 12:47 PM September 04, 2016

HANGZHOU, China — If President Barack Obama was hoping for a graceful start to his final trip to Asia as commander in chief, this wasn’t it.

A confrontation between a White House aide and a Chinese official, and other diplomatic dust-ups were out in the open from the moment Air Force One landed in Hangzhou, site of an economic summit.

READ: Obama makes final trip to China, Southeast Asia

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The first sign of trouble: There was no staircase for Obama to exit the plane and descend on the red carpet. Obama used an alternative exit.

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On the tarmac, a quarrel broke out between a presidential aide and a Chinese official who demanded the journalists traveling with Obama be prohibited from getting anywhere near him. It was a breach of the tradition observed whenever the American president arrives in a foreign place.

When the White House official insisted the U.S. would set the rules for its own leader, her Chinese counterpart shot back.

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“This is our country! This is our airport!” the Chinese official yelled.

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READ: Obama calls on China to halt land reclamation

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Also, a Chinese official tried to keep Obama’s national security adviser, Susan Rice, away from her boss.

Rice seemed less than amused by the incident when asked about it by a reporter.

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“They did things that weren’t anticipated,” she said.

Later, two Chinese officials — one working to assist the American delegation — had to be physically separated after trying to hit each other outside an event./rga

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TAGS: Barack Obama, China, Hangzhou, News

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