G20 ‘staircase snub’ for Obama was United States’ decision, reveals Chinese official
Foreign ministry official says Washington turned down Beijing’s proposal to provide rolling red-carpet stairway for US leader when he arrived at Hangzhou airport for G20 summit
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 04 September, 2016, 2:05pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 06 September, 2016, 5:28am
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It was Washington’s decision to have US President Barack Obama disembark from his plane through a small bare metal stairway instead of the usual rolling red-carpet staircase that state leaders get, a Chinese foreign ministry official has revealed.
Speculation has been flying about whether China was deliberately snubbing Obama since media reports on Saturday showed the US leader exiting the Air Force One through the small stairway.
But this was not the case, according to the Chinese official involved in the diplomatic arrangements.
“China provides a rolling staircase for every arriving state leader, but the US side complained that the driver doesn’t speak English and can’t understand security instructions from the United States; so China proposed that we could assign a translator to sit beside the driver, but the US side turned down the proposal and insisted that they didn’t need the staircase provided by the airport,” the official told the South China Morning Post on Sunday.
It would do China no good in treating Obama rudely, added the official, who declined to be named as she was not authorised to speak to the press.
On Sunday, Obama told reporters that the significance of upon his arrival should not be overblown.
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“I wouldn’t overcrank the significance” of tensions at the airport, Obama said later on Sunday, according to Reuters. “Part of it is we also have a much bigger footprint than a lot of other countries. We’ve got a lot of planes, a lot of helicopters, a lot of cars, a lot of guys. You know, if you’re a host country, sometimes it may feel a little bit much.”
As China hosts the , which opened officially in Hangzhou, eastern Zhejiang province, on Sunday afternoon, Beijing has tried hard to ensure a flawless event by closing down shops, driving away local residents and banning all civil activities in and outside the venues.
The state imposed . In reception, China rolled out red carpets for every arriving leader, including Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
While Obama did not disembark from a carpeted staircase, the red carpet was still rolled out for him as he was led to his black limousine, which was brought to China beforehand.
Experts with diplomatic experience said China had no reason to mistreat Obama when Xi was working on improving Sino-US ties.
“Sino-US relations are so important to China, and there’s absolutely no logic in creating trouble or to downgrade treatment for the US president,” said He Weiwen, a former economic counsellor at the Chinese consulate in San Francisco and New York and now an executive council member at the China Society for WTO Studies.
What is the most important issue at this year’s summit?
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Obama's China visit off to a KOOL START-or maybe I should say hot start?
- Thread starter Air Force Brat
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I find it hard to believe that Obama and his people specifically asked to depart the plane through that exit.
Obama believes he is somehow the great gift to mankind...and him requesting something that would for all the world look like he was being treated as anything but that just seems far fetched to me...and certainly not within international or statesmanship like norms.
OTOH, you van never tell when it comes to him...most people in the US, something like 70% believe that the nation has gone off track under his administration.
...and, IMHO, it most certainly has.
Something like this would be just idiotic for them to request.
Really, All these brouhaha could have been avoided if instead of bringing a pompous and condescending entourage, the Americans behaved more like a dignified/gracious guest just like all the other guest. Very simple yet seems so hard for some of us.
I agree when it comes to this administration...and I am a dedicated and faithful American. But this administration has not acted in keeping with the traditions of either American or International statesmanship or civility.
Equation
Lieutenant General
Yep and why should they when they are the darlings of the media.