Barack Obama’s ‘Umbrella Moment’ In China

The media will continue to speculate about the outcome of President Barack Obama’s visit to China. However, small gestures matter. The Times of London observes that Obama carrying his own umbrella while alighting from the Air Force One “may be just the right stick for China”.

“Perhaps that simple umbrella moment really mattered. It showed China’s people that the arrogant America of their perceptions can also show humility, and that their own leaders risk becoming just as haughty as the world’s lone superpower.

“President Obama did not come to China carrying a big stick, but he did carry his own umbrella. It was a gesture that impressed ordinary Chinese accustomed to seeing aides shielding their own leaders from the rain. Just what kind of impression Mr Obama made on China’s rulers was harder to gauge…” More here…

Meanwhile India seems to have been irked by Obama’s visit to China. “Angered by US President Barack Obama’s attempt to envisage a role for China in South Asia, India on Wednesday made it clear that it objects any move to give a wider footprint to China in the region,” reports an Indian news channel.

“The Ministry of External Affairs said that it had objections to Obama giving China a greater role in South Asian affairs, adding a third country’s role cannot be envisaged in the bilateral relationships between countries of the region.” More here…

Has Obama agreed that Beijing would monitor Indo-Pak ties? asks The Times of India. More here…

The statement by U.S. President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao, issued on Tuesday in Beijing, supports the “improvement and growth of relations between India and Pakistan.”

It says “the two sides are ready to strengthen communication, dialogue and cooperation on issues related to South Asia and work together to promote peace, stability and development in that region.” More here…

According to the BBC: “Before Wednesday’s meeting with the Chinese prime minister, Mr Obama said the Washington-Beijing relationship was now about more than trade and economics.” Read here…