- President Barack Obama landed in China for his last trip to Asia as POTUS
- Security personnel in China took issue with reporters with the president
- Chinese officials attempted to rope off the journalists from Obama
- One personnel member felt they were too close and screamed at them
- Secret Service clashed with Chinese security before the motorcade left
- Obama is in Hangzhou, China, for the final G20 summit of his presidency
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When president Barack Obama arrived in China on Saturday, typical pleasantries were spoiled slightly after a Chinese official began shouting at U.S. White House staff. Chinese authorities have imposed extremely tight security precautions for the G20 summit. Not even U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice and the White House press corps proved exempt when Air Force One landed in host city Hangzhou.
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President Barack Obama arrived in China on Saturday for his final G20 summit as president, but his initial landing was marred by tension between Chinese officials and White House staffers
Chinese authorities have imposed extremely tight security precautions for the G20 summit, which cause tempers to flare on the tarmac
U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice and senior White House staffer Ben Rhodes were blocked from getting close to the president until Secret Service stepped in and escorted them
When Obama travels, the reporters accompanying are brought under the wing of the Boeing 747 to watch him come down the aircraft stairs. On Saturday they were penned off behind a blue rope installed by Chinese security. But that was not far away enough for the Chinese personnel, one of whom screamed at White House staff, demanding the U.S. press leave the scene.
One Chinese official (pictured) shouted at a group of reporters for being too close to the president, despite the fact they followed protocol
A female White House official (pictured), handbag over her arm, told him that it was an American plane and the U.S. president
‘This is our country!’ the Chinese official, in a dark suit, shouted at her in English. ‘This is our airport!’
A female White House official, handbag over her arm, told him that it was an American plane and the U.S. president.
‘This is our country!’ the Chinese official, in a dark suit, shouted at her in English. ‘This is our airport!’
When U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice and senior White House staffer Ben Rhodes tried to get closer to the president, lifting up the blue rope and walking under it, the official turned his ire on Rice, trying to block her progress. As they exchanged angry words her Secret Service agent stepped in to usher her past him.
After the tense landing, Obama was on his way to the G20 summit – his last as president of the United States
At the international forum of nation leaders in Hangzhou, China and the U.S. ratified the Paris Agreement for both countries (Chinese President Xi Jinping, pictured, left)
The Paris Agreement is part of the UN’s Convention on Climate Change, which began in 2015
Moments after the heated argument the U.S. president’s motorcade was rolling away. Hangzhou is a city of nine million people but it has been denuded of around a quarter of its population for the event.
Factories have been closed to ensure blue skies, potential troublemakers detained, and the wide boulevards of a city lauded by Venetian traveler Marco Polo are empty.
‘They did things that weren’t anticipated,’ Rice told reporters later.
This G20 summit is being held in Hangzhou, Zhejiand province, China, which is home to nine million people
The pair were seen walking around a pavilion after the day’s events before stopping in for tea
Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) drink tea in a pavilion at West Lake State Guest House in Hangzhou
Obama is attending the G20 summit – his last as president, this week. At the international forum of nation leaders in Hangzhou, China and the U.S. ratified the Paris Agreement for both countries.
The Paris Agreement, which is part of the UN’s 2015 Convention on Climate Change, is an arrangement to begin greenhouse gases emissions mitigation, adaptation and finance in the year 2020. Last year 195 countries negotiated the language of the agreement and came to a consensus that was agreed upon by all the nations. As of September 2016, 180 UNFCCC members have signed the treaty, 26 of which have ratified it, but that is not enough for it to enter into international law.
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