China’s leaders have been accused of delivering a calculated diplomatic snub to Barack Obama after the US president was not provided with a staircase to leave his plane during his chaotic arrival in Hangzhou ahead of the start of the G20.
Chinese authorities have rolled out the red carpet for leaders including India’s prime pinister Narendra Modi, Russian president Vladimir Putin, South Korean president Park Geun-hye, Brazil’s president Michel Temer and British prime minister Theresa May, who touched down on Sunday morning.
But the leader of the world’s largest economy, who is on his final tour of Asia, was forced to disembark from Air Force One through a little-used lower exit in the plane’s belly after no rolling staircase was provided when he landed in the eastern Chinese city on Saturday afternoon.
When Obama did find his way onto a red carpet on the tarmac below there were heated altercations between US and Chinese officials, with one Chinese official caught on video shouting: “This is our country! This is our airport!”
“The reception that President Obama and his staff got when they arrived here Saturday afternoon was bruising, even by Chinese standards,” the New York Times reported.
orge Guajardo, Mexico’s former ambassador to China, said he was convinced Obama’s treatment was part of a calculated snub.
“These things do not happen by mistake. Not with the Chinese,” Guajardo, who hosted presidents Enrique Peña Nieto and Felipe Calderón during his time in Beijing, told the Guardian.
“I’ve dealt with the Chinese for six years. I’ve done these visits. I took Xi Jinping to Mexico. I received two Mexican presidents in China. I know exactly how these things get worked out. It’s down to the last detail in everything. It’s not a mistake. It’s not.”
Guajardo added: “It’s a snub. It’s a way of saying: ‘You know, you’re not that special to us.’ It’s part of the new Chinese arrogance. It’s part of stirring up Chinese nationalism. It’s part of saying: ‘China stands up to the superpower.’ It’s part of saying: ‘And by the way, you’re just someone else to us.’ It works very well with the local audience.
“Why [did it happen]?” the former diplomat, who was ambassador from 2007 until 2013, added. “I guess it is part of Xi Jinping playing the nationalist card. That’s my guess.”
Bill Bishop, a China expert whose Sinocism newsletter tracks the country’s political scene, agreed that Obama’s welcome looked suspiciously like a deliberate slight intended “to make the Americans look diminished and weak”.
“It sure looks like a straight up snub,” Bishop said. “This clearly plays very much into the [idea]: ‘Look, we can make the American president go out of the ass of the plane.’” Bishop added: “We’ve no proof. It could clearly just be a [mess]-up but it would be a stunningly large **** -up given how well these people plan for all these events and especially for something like the G20.”
“The idea that they have been preparing for well over a year for the G20 but suddenly there be a malfunction with the ramp just for one president … that really strains strains credulity.”
Things sure have changed since Nixon and Reagan went to China.
Before I read the first post, the thread title had me thinking it had something to do with China's trying to stake out so much of the South China Sea as its sovereign territory... the Spratly Islands... that reef island that the Chinese have enlarged with dredging and equipped with an aircraft runway.
In a sense, I guess that really is (or could be) part of this story. As a subtext.
[This message has been edited by rinselberg (edited 09-04-2016).]
good, now tariff every China made imported item brought into the US of A.. at 25%..
And bury their economy that is on the razors edge..
Walmart and The Consumer™ would defeat any attempt at such. Senators and such prioritize their jobs(aka their income) above anything else(including the truth, common sense, justice, or doing what's right).
good, now tariff every China made imported item brought into the US of A.. at 25%..
And bury their economy that is on the razors edge..
So, they call in their debtors to pay up. Whether I like it or not, we owe the Chinese a bundle of cash. Such action would harm our economy also.
------------------ Ron
Isn't it strange that after a bombing, everyone blames the bomber, his upbringing, his environment, his culture, his mental state but … after a shooting, the problem is the gun?
Definition of a home owner, "see the door threshold, without my permission, there and no futher.......
If, you wish to piss off a Conservative, lie to him. If, you wish to piss off a Socialist, Liberal or Progressive, tell them the truth.
The South China Morning Post on Sunday reported an official as saying that China provides red carpets to welcome every arriving state leader, "but the US side... turned down the proposal and insisted that they didn't need the staircase provided by the airport".
Yeah--sure..
But, in diplomacy, as always, it's not what's said that tells the tale--it's what's not said. This all sends a clear message and it shouldn't be lost on anyone. Like our Syrian/ISIS/JV team military strategy, the 'pivot to the Pacific' is just a 'paper tiger'. A little meowing but no real teeth or claws. Should have done a little more early on in the island dispute and the building on the atolls.
[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 09-04-2016).]
Yup. Same dude gave the same treatment to one of our PM's photographers.
Maybe it was warranted. Maybe it was just a political ploy. I'm not bothered either way.
Justine just forgot to give them the gift snow-boards. I'm glad we have a dignified P-M. Between him and Barrak, this continent has become the laughing stock and comedy relief for the entire planet.
[This message has been edited by MidEngineManiac (edited 09-04-2016).]
good, now tariff every China made imported item brought into the US of A.. at 25%..
And bury their economy that is on the razors edge..
Please, God no. I don't want to listen to you then complaining about how the rich have suddenly hiked up the prices of everything at Walmart so pad their fat bank accounts.
Please, God no. I don't want to listen to you then complaining about how the rich have suddenly hiked up the prices of everything at Walmart so pad their fat bank accounts.
You must have me confused with someone else.. as seen a I hunt out MADE IN US of A products.. so I already pay more.. than the loosers that shop walmart and ***** that there are no job's as they check out more imported junk..
And don't give me the old b/s line that I typed that out on a computer made where?? if and when there is an option to buy an American made one.. I'll be the first in line..
[This message has been edited by E.Furgal (edited 09-04-2016).]
You must have me confused with someone else.. as seen a I hunt out MADE IN US of A products.. so I already pay more.. than the loosers that shop walmart and ***** that there are no job's as they check out more imported junk..
And don't give me the old b/s line that I typed that out on a computer made where?? if and when there is an option to buy an American made one.. I'll be the first in line..
While most parts are not made in the US, some are and some are assembled and serviced in US, by US citizens. What computer do you own and why haven't you bought from a US company like described? What car do you own? My 73 IHC was built in USA... how about you?
BTW, it is global economy.... if my pens are made in china, so be it.
[This message has been edited by jaskispyder (edited 09-04-2016).]
While most parts are not made in the US, some are and some are assembled and serviced in US, by US citizens. What computer do you own and why haven't you bought from a US company like described? What car do you own? My 73 IHC was built in USA... how about you?
BTW, it is global economy.... if my pens are made in china, so be it.
The old global economy thing would work if workers could also transit borders. As it is the system is flawed.
While most parts are not made in the US, some are and some are assembled and serviced in US, by US citizens. What computer do you own and why haven't you bought from a US company like described? What car do you own? My 73 IHC was built in USA... how about you?
BTW, it is global economy.... if my pens are made in china, so be it.
all my vehicles were made here, parts cast here, and stamped here.. newest one is 1986.. My computer is a 12 year old dell
all my vehicles were made here, parts cast here, and stamped here.. newest one is 1986.. My computer is a 12 year old dell
Assembled here or made here with USA parts? Even the fiero had non-US parts. Dell has parts from asia, you better throw them all out. Do you buy your clothing from US companies? How about your food? How about your tools? Light bulbs? Cleaning supplies? Office supplies? Entertainment (many studios us foreign labor)? Oil? Replacement auto parts? Even this site is using a non-US server.... yet you have no problem using it. Hmm. Double standard... or are you exaggerating again.
Just proves to me even the other world dirtbags have absolutely no respect for this country with Obuma in office. Trump would have (like me) just told them to start AF One back up, take off and come back home without getting off and sending them a message to 'go screw themselves'.
And just to prove how stupid Obuma is, he went down the service stairs and still signed their agreement with a smile. Too bad he didnt trip and break his neck.
I didn't read the linked report yet, but I've been following the Hanjin saga for several weeks. It's not as dire a shortage as is sometimes being reported, but it's where their shipping is concentrated and what kind that is causing a problem. They're rated 7th in the world, only have 3% of the container vessel global market share (8% of the Asia Pacific to US market) and Hyundai Merchant Marine Co stated last Thursday that they will be adding 13 more vessels to offset the squeeze caused by Hanjin's receivership. I expect the locked out vessels to either unload once Hanjin receives some sort of bankruptcy protection or be redirected to somewhere like Singapore where the cargo can be reloaded onto other carriers. Probably not much more dire than the west coast port worker's strike last year.
[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 09-05-2016).]
I didn't read the linked report yet, but I've been following the Hanjin saga for several weeks. It's not as dire a shortage as is sometimes being reported, but it's where their shipping is concentrated and what kind that is causing a problem. They're rated 7th in the world, only have 3% of the container vessel global market share (8% of the Asia Pacific to US market) and Hyundai Merchant Marine Co stated last Thursday that they will be adding 13 more vessels to offset the squeeze caused by Hanjin's receivership. I expect the locked out vessels to either unload once Hanjin receives some sort of bankruptcy protection or be redirected to somewhere like Singapore where the cargo can be reloaded onto other carriers. Probably not much more dire than the west coast port worker's strike last year.
PITTSBURGH—New tariffs on imports are boosting steel prices in the U.S., offering a lifeline to beleaguered American steelmakers but raising costs for manufacturers of goods ranging from oil pipes to factory equipment to cars.
U.S. steel producers who lost billions of dollars last year amid a flood of cheap imports are looking to capitalize on tighter supplies and higher pricing. That is shifting the dynamics of a supply chain that had come to rely on inexpensive foreign steel.
“Our government has done a pretty good job of boxing out the guys who were importing the most-cheap steel,” says Stuart Barnett, owner of Chicago-based Barsteel Corp., a steel processor and distributor that sells to a range of manufacturers. “But now the greatest fear we have is that China keeps the cheap steel for itself and makes products that undercut other industries.”
Duties on steel products from China, Brazil, India, Japan and other countries have contributed to the U.S. benchmark hot-rolled coil index rising more than 60% this year to $615 per ton, after falling 33% last year. In Europe, the benchmark index is up by 34%.
Steel imports into the U.S. during the first quarter of 2016 fell to eight million metric tons, down 29% from a year earlier, and inventories also declined.
This spring, major U.S. producers sent out a flurry of letters announcing nonnegotiable increases in prices. On April 15, for example, U.S. Steel Corp. wrote to its customers that “effective immediately, base pricing for all new flat-rolled product sport orders is increased by $60 per ton.”
The rise in U.S. prices follows the Commerce Department’s move to impose tariffs in response to an oversupply in the steel industry, especially from China. Some duties are as high as 266%.
Those tariffs, which come during an election season rife with promises to protect American workers, have given U.S. steel mills more pricing power and have curtailed imports of some steel products that are made more cheaply abroad. Some of those products may not even be made in the U.S.
Nucor Corp. reported a steep increase in quarterly profit Thursday and forecast a robust third quarter, as the steelmaker cashed in on a widening gap between weak commodity markets overseas and domestic prices propped up by new U.S. import tariffs.
Nucor, now the country’s biggest steelmaker by output, said net profits rose 87% to $233.8 million, or 73 cents a share, up from $124.8 million, or 39 cents a share, a year earlier.
And here's His Majesty exiting the hard way. A snub by the Chinese? You bet. Will Obama remember it forever? If you've seen Humphrey Bogart's 'Captain Queeg' in 'The Caine Mutiny' fixating over 'the Mess boys' and the missing strawberries, oh yes, he will remember ...
I'm glad we have a dignified P-M. Between him and Barrak, this continent has become the laughing stock and comedy relief for the entire planet.
