Obama defuses controversy at Chinese airport

President Barack Obama said the US and China's different approaches to media freedom led to the dispute at Hangzhou airport.

According to AFP, the above statement was made by Mr. Obama on September 4 to ease tensions surrounding the controversy at Hangzhou airport (China) - the city where the G20 Summit that the US President attended was taking place.

President Obama speaks out to calm down the controversy at Hangzhou airport (China). Photo: AFP.

A row broke out after a Chinese official told reporters traveling with the US President to move away. The official even shouted at a White House staffer: “This is our country! This is our airport!”

Not only that, Chinese officials also "clashed" with US National Security Advisor Susan Rice when she tried to get close to President Obama as he stepped off Air Force One at Hangzhou airport.

Then, when US security personnel decided that President Obama should step down from Air Force One using the plane's private ladder, he had to step onto a runway that was not covered with a red carpet like other heads of state.

This has led to speculation that a diplomatic row has broken out between the US and China.

However, according to President Obama, the above tension is only due to the way the media approaches information about this matter as well as the level of ensuring freedom of the American press, which is often "considered unusual compared to other countries" every time he travels abroad.

President Obama affirmed that Washington always supports freedom of the press in any case and will "never accept concessions to American values ​​and ideals on trips like this."

“This can cause controversy. However, this time the controversy seems to be more intense than usual regarding the negotiation process on the operation of the American press because we want to create a bigger footprint than other countries.

“We also have a lot of planes, helicopters, vehicles, and security personnel. You know, if you are the host country, you will feel that we are overdoing it,” Mr. Obama admitted.

According to US sources, the dispute at the stairs of Air Force One stemmed from the US side's decision to use the stairs of Air Force One itself instead of the stairs proposed by Hangzhou airport authorities.

“The US side complained that the Chinese driver did not speak English and could not understand the US security instructions. The US side also insisted on using their stairs,” a Chinese diplomatic official was quoted as saying by the South China Morning Post.

“China has nothing to gain by treating President Obama badly,” the official stressed.

Meanwhile, President Obama affirmed that this is not the first time the US and China have had disputes during visits and that "value conflicts" like this also frequently appear in conversations between him and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“So I don’t want to overstate how serious this is. I think the most important thing is that the press has access to what’s going on and they can answer questions about what we do,” Obama stressed.

According to VOV