Patterico's Pontifications

12/18/2009

Chinese Premier Snubs Obama … Twice (Updated)

Filed under: Economics,International,Obama — DRJ @ 6:01 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

UK’s The Independent reports China’s Premier Wen Jiabao twice avoided meeting with President Obama at the Copenhagen climate change summit:

“At an emergency meeting convened at the Bella Center this morning, Barack Obama and Gordon Brown assembled 26 heads of state in an attempt to revive a deal. But China’s Premier Wen Jiabao did not attend and was replaced by vice foreign minister He Yafei.

This afternoon, the US president and his secretary of state Hillary Clinton called another meeting with China, but were snubbed again when only three low-level Chinese delegates arrived.”

China has expressed alarmed at the rate the United States — under the Obama Administration — is printing and spending money. Apparently this hasn’t gotten President Obama’s attention, at least not if his recent efforts to mobilize more spending for climate change are any indication. Perhaps this is the Premier’s way of getting Obama’s attention.

— DRJ

UPDATE: An hour after Obama was supposed to have left Copenhagen (he had to rush home to Washington to beat an imminent snowstorm), Jake Tapper reports there was a moment of high drama as Obama barged into a meeting with the Chinese Premier. (The video is here.)

It’s often said America’s President is the most powerful person in the world but that wasn’t the case today.

H/T Maybee.

32 Responses to “Chinese Premier Snubs Obama … Twice (Updated)”

  1. he’s an eminently snubbable person I think

    happyfeet (2c63dd)

  2. As usual, it’s all about the Yuan, heh,heh! See what I did there?

    Gazzer (1e0374)

  3. You’d think the SNL skit would have gotten his attention …

    SPQR (26be8b)

  4. China has the moral high ground on this issue.

    That’s not the way it’s supposed to be.

    happyfeet (2c63dd)

  5. This helps to explain his breaking in to the meeting of other leaders and saying “Are you ready to see me now?”

    MayBee (63bf2b)

  6. This scenario reminds me of a teenager who borrows lots of money from his parents, spends it all and asks for more, but nevertheless demands that his father stop earning a living because the teenager doesn’t approve of his line of work.

    LASue (5f0073)

  7. Obama shoulda bowed to the sucker like he did the Japanese dude. We don’t even owe the Japanese a gazillion bucks and they got a bow. Least Owebama could have done was bow.

    daleyrocks (718861)

  8. I guess that we have to reach some kind of diplomacy deal with the Chinese: we won’t talk about their human rights abuses if they don’t talk about our outrageous debt.

    JVW (0fe413)

  9. I think you’re right, Maybee, but it still made for a weird (or as Jake Tapper said, a dramatic) moment. I think I’ll add it to the post.

    DRJ (84a0c3)

  10. i’m still trying to figure out what the “emergency” was that they had to have a meeting about?

    the science isn’t settled, there’s no consensus on what, if anything should be done, and there’s nothing that has to be done by COB today, except possibly polish someone’s public image.

    redc1c4 (fb8750)

  11. “Hu’s the Communist’ it’s a question that worth considering

    bishop (474138)

  12. I’ll say it again: Obama is pledging money that he couldda paid to China against the debt first, and the Chinese have noticed.

    Imagine you were a lender and your by-far biggest debtor owed you a whack of money, make or break levels of money, and instead of even trying to pay you back he was running around buying drinks for everyone in town with the money he’d borrowed from you. Would you be happy about that?

    ras (1d003b)

  13. Funny you should put it in those terms, ras. I am dealing with that very sort of situation right now with someone who owes me money. It really does make the Chinese look sympathetic in this matter.

    JVW (0fe413)

  14. I’ve updated the post to add more Obama drama as suggested by Maybee’s comment. Thanks, Maybee.

    DRJ (84a0c3)

  15. I don’t know what to make of that video you added. It looks like he barged in uninvited and was more than a little confrontational. The Chicago way?

    Gazzer (1e0374)

  16. “Four against one,” an official said to the president.

    “No problem,” he replied.

    lol is the only word in the English language what really captures this moment I think

    happyfeet (2c63dd)

  17. “Um, excuse me sir, but I have been standing outside this door waiting for you for a half hour now. . .”

    JVW (0fe413)

  18. Drama? What a load of horse manure.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  19. Thanks DRJ

    MayBee (63bf2b)

  20. “You gonna raise the red lantern in front of my quarters? You gonna raise the red lantern? Raise the red lantern!”

    nk (df76d4)

  21. Chicoms snub Obama twice. Chavez and Castro insult him in public. Iran marches toward the bomb unimpeded. No one has heard anything about N. Korea in a while – never a good thing. That’s some smart, tough diplomacy!

    B+ !

    Metallica (e4735c)

  22. It’s time to impeach the boor. At least Biden would be funnier in the position. There’d be no temptation whatsoever to pretend he was serious.

    {^_^}

    JD (847e52)

  23. Does anyone else think it hysterical that he had to run back to DC due to a freakin “weather situation”.

    What a tool!

    KL (0d95ff)

  24. “Um, excuse me sir, but I have been standing outside this door waiting for you for a half hour now. . .”

    Whadda you guys think this place is Denny’s or sumpin’? You can’t treat me this way!!!!!!

    daleyrocks (718861)

  25. I feel like I should understand about the red lantern. I never saw the movie.

    happyfeet (2c63dd)

  26. That sounds very sad. I read a few Amy Tan books and then she did that rock band thing with Stephen King and they said stupid political things and I decided Amy Tan could maybe piss off.

    happyfeet (2c63dd)

  27. I did not know that about Amy Tan. I knew about Stephen King. Well, John Kerry did say the Four Horsemen were at large.

    Stashiu3 (44da70)

  28. OBAMA=ROOKIE
    wadda yutz

    pitchforksntorches (8165c3)

  29. What goes around comes around. The Anointed Won refused to take a private meeting with the British Prime Minister–and the Chinese Premier flicks this deadbeat spendthrift off.

    Mike Myers (3c9845)

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  31. So, Obama is now taking diplomacy tips from the Salahis, is that it?

    I’m with those who agree China just didn’t want to hear him promising to ‘give’ others the money he’s borrowed from them instead of paying down anything.

    And on the heels of that news, the 60th man caves in the Senate, all in time for The One to deliver our Christmas Miracle.

    He’ll put our eyes out….

    rtrski (47b90a)


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