The Group-of-20 (G-20) nations held its 2016 economic summit in China over the weekend. The main topic for discussion was how these leading nations could best deal with sluggish global economic growth.
China took it as an opportunity to personally insult US President Barack Obama and humiliate the US at every turn while reminding the world that Asia is Chinese territory.
It all began at the airport with the arrival of the US president on Air Force One. Imagine President Duterte inviting the US Ambassador to Malacañang and then telling him he had to park his car outside the gates. For all the other G-20 leaders, the red carpet was rolled out. For President Obama, the Chinese did not even supply one of those portable airplane stairs, even without a red carpet. Obama was forced to deplane through the emergency exit of Air Force One.
While other nations acknowledge that the US President travels with his own limousine carrying a US license plate, Beijing officials made the US use a Chinese license plate. Presumably, they gave it for free. Chinese officials were on hand to greet the other leaders at their airplanes. The US National Security Advisor Susan Rice was reminded by an unnamed Chinese official that “this is our country. This is our airport,” when Rice attempted to cross a roped off area for the press.
There is absolutely no question that all this was an insult, pure and simple.
Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Turkey’s Tayyip Erdogan worked out a deal at the summit for a joint Russian-Turkish investment fund while probably deciding the course of the ongoing war in the Middle East. Obama was left to figure out why Germany’s Angela Merkel was standing next to President Xi Jinping while he was placed down the line in official pictures.
The US did its normal “everyone should follow international law” regarding the South China Sea. China reminded the US to mind its own business. Obama called that all part of “a relationship that is on a strong and productive footing.” President Xi Jinping thanked Vladimir Putin for bringing him a gift of Russian ice cream that is his favorite. Xi told Obama that China objects to the deployment of a US missile shield in South Korea.
The Chinese pulled out Alibaba’s founder—and best friend forever of Obama and former President Benigno S. Aquino III—Jack Ma, the happy face of Chinese capitalism. Ma was there to “warn” the world that “globalization is good… when trade stops, war comes.” In other words, everybody better keep buying all the fake products from his web site or somebody is going to be in big trouble.
While Obama will no longer be US president after January 20, 2017, the G-20 meeting has made it abundantly clear that the US, as well as Obama, is in “lame duck” status as far as Asia is concerned. The great concern is how far will this attitude resonate with those nations outside of Asia.