At a Chinese airport, officials of both countries exchanged heated remarks as President Barack Obama disembarked from his aircraft.
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“This makes us believe that the tense atmosphere between China and the U.S. can be partly attributed to the western media, which often makes a fuss over trifling issues”, it added.
Obama didn’t detail the trouble spots, although he suggested the US has concerns about Russian Federation holding up its end of the bargain and enforcing the terms.
Later at the West Lake State House where Obama and Xi met, White House aides, protocol officers and Secret Service agents argued heatedly for 15 minutes with Chinese officials over how many U.S. journalists would be allowed in. “This is our airport!” Chinese government minders confronted National Security Advisor Susan Rice when she moved closer to Obama as he walked from Air Force One after landing in the Chinese city of Hangzhou for a G20 summit.
He said the fight against climate change remains hard and urgent, but having heavy-hitters like China and the United States on “your side is extremely heartening”.
The meeting began on a diplomatic high note following a joint announcement Saturday by Obama and Xi that their governments had submitted documents committing them to carrying out the Paris climate agreement. Chinese officials suddenly cut the number of journalists from six to three, and then to one.
When asked about the string of apparent snubs at a press conference Sunday with British Prime Minister Theresa May, President Obama said he would not “over-crank the significance” of the incidents, noting that it was not the first time issues around security and press access have become an issue during a visit to China or other countries.
For his part, Putin said Russian Federation “will be glad to take part in this discussion” to deepen military and economic ties with China. An Associated Press reporter was denied entry to a climate change ceremony because a credential list used a common nickname, though he was eventually allowed in after the U.S. Embassy intervened. “That they have the ability to answer questions”, he said. “And we don’t leave our values and ideals behind when we take these trips”.
Obama, reflecting later on the squabbling, said it wasn’t the first time it had happened. Please see our terms of service for more information. Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin plan to meet Monday.
Xi’s speech is significant because China has been one of the largest beneficiaries of global trade deals – but protectionism and isolationism are on the rise in some other countries where people view the deals as job killers.
Responding to potential US concerns over the Turkish response, Obama said, “No doubt what is true is that they’ve gone through a political and civil quake in their country, and they’ve got to rebuild, and how they rebuild is going to be important”. Even as top diplomats vowed to keep trying, President Barack Obama expressed skepticism that an unlikely alliance between rivals would yield the breakthrough needed to end the 5-year-old civil war.
“It is imperative that the G20 takes the lead and blaze a trail”, Xi reiterated to the summit Sunday evening at a welcome dinner. Several other reporters have also had their applications rejected.
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“This is a global problem, but with a specific Chinese dimension we have to address”, Juncker said.
