A confrontation between a White House aide and a Chinese official, and other diplomatic dust-ups were out in the open from the moment Air Force One landed in Hangzhou, site of an economic summit.
The first sign of trouble: There was no staircase for Obama to exit the plane and descend on the red carpet. Obama used an alternative exit.
On the tarmac, a quarrel broke out between a presidential aide and a Chinese official who demanded the journalists traveling with Obama be prohibited from getting anywhere near him. It was a breach of the tradition observed whenever the American president arrives in a foreign place.
"This is our country! This is our airport!" the Chinese official yelled.
Also, a Chinese official tried to keep Obama's national security adviser, Susan Rice, away from her boss.
Rice seemed less than amused by the incident when asked about it by a reporter.
"They did things that weren't anticipated," she said.
Later, two Chinese officials — one working to assist the American delegation — had to be physically separated after trying to hit each other outside an event.
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HANGZHOU, China — If President Obama was hoping for a graceful start to his final trip to Asia as commander in chief, this wasn't it.
