G20 leaders meet in China

REPORTING on big international summits is often an exercise in drudgery. Debates about the agenda take place behind closed doors, weeks in advance of the actual meetings. Final agreements are phrased in general terms, smoothed out to be acceptable to all those at the table. Journalists are herded between photo-ops; they see beaming smiles and firm handshakes rather than the disagreements that preceded them. Or, at least, that is the way things are supposed to be.A summit of G20 leaders, which began on September 4th in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, deviated from this stereotype with an oddly tense and protocol-defying start. After participants landed at Hangzhou's airport, red-carpeted stairways were rolled up to their aeroplanes. But when Barack Obama's Air Force One touched down, there were no ceremonial steps for him. The American president instead disembarked on a smaller set of metal stairs via the plane's underbelly.At around the same time, a dispute broke out on the tarmac when a Chinese official prevented American reporters from lining up to record Mr Obama's exit, as members of the White House press corps commonly do on such occasions....Continue reading
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