As China’s Group of 20 Nations Leaders Summit kicked off Sunday, a commotion on the tarmac during President Barack Obama’s arrival and a series of other disputes continue to provide distractions.
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President Obama and President Xi held “candid” talks over the South China Sea.
Officials from the both the countries are said to have exchanged angry words with one local official castigating a White House staffer. The two were immediately stopped by the same Chinese official, who angrily challenged them. “This is our airport!”
The meeting was frequently overshadowed by other concerns and got off to a rocky start Saturday when there was no staircase at the airport for Obama to exit his plane.
“This is our arrangement”, a Chinese official explained to his American counterpart, according to a pool report.
“Calm down please. Calm down”, a White House official said.
“Your arrangement keeps changing”, the American replied.
In the end, the two settled on two journalists from the White House press corps.
President Obama sat down with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in China on Monday, in a meeting that covered a laundry list of hot-button issues, from cyber attacks on the U.S.to the civil war in Syria and ongoing hostilities in Ukraine. That they have the ability to answer questions.
Washington stands up for press freedom and human rights and – whatever the fallout – does not “leave our values and ideals behind when we take these trips”, he said. “[But] it can cause some friction”.
High level diplomatic visits nearly always involve weeks or months of negotiations to set the terms for issues such as arrival ceremonies, press access, seating arrangements and more.
“But this time”, he said, “the seams are showing a little more than usual”.
A Chinese official who wanted United States reporters travelling with the president to move shouted at a White House staffer: “This is our country!”
“China has laid the groundwork for meaningful action as no G20 leader state ever has before”, Renwick said. For example, the country faces criticism from the US and Europe over the flood of steel and other raw materials it has unleashed on global markets.
President Obama sought on Sunday to heal a rift with Turkey, expressing his wholehearted support for its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in the wake of the failed effort to oust him and promising America’s help in bringing the coup plotters to justice. Last week, when reporters traveling with Secretary of State John Kerry tried to apply for visas to come to China and attend the G-20, their applications were denied.
Mr. Ban said he was “happy to hear that the draft communiqué of this G20 Summit is also encouraging the speedy entry into force of this key global agreement and I would like to [urge] G20 members, once again, to lead by example on this defining issue of climate change”, drawing attention to a high-level ratification ceremony at the UN Headquarters in NY he is convening on 21 September.
“Japanese businesses with their European headquarters in the United Kingdom may decide to transfer their head-office function to Continental Europe if EU laws cease to be applicable in the United Kingdom after its withdrawal”, the report warned.
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“The guests enjoyed a feast of classic Chinese music, folk dance, traditional songs and ballet performance – a blend of East and West cultures”, reported Xinhua, China’s official news agency.
