Great Wall blocks Obama in China

In a classic stage-managed setting, China's Marxist mandarins choreographed a style over substance atmosphere during their first major meetings with U.S. President Obama.

Beijing's President and Communist Party leader Hu Jintao, looking more the role of the Chairman of the Board of China, Inc., than the image of past PRC proletarian rulers, appeared calmly in control.

The summit, which produced little in the way of political, economic or human rights substance for the U.S., nonetheless did much to publicly reinforce the role of the People's Republic of China as a confident and rising power.

The Wall Street Journal called the encounters an “awkward summit” and with the headline: “U.S., China in strained diplomatic embrace.” Even The New York Times conceded, “with China's micro-management of Mr. Obama's appearances in the country, the trip did more to showcase China's ability to push back against outside pressure than it did to advance major issues on Mr. Obama's agenda,” analysts said.

So what were some of the key points President Obama raised?

On human rights, good try by Obama, but blocked by communist China's perfected censorship cocoon which can give the impression of openness but has the practical effect of stifling and silencing even the spirited Shanghai discussion with a town hall-type audience. While Obama showed undue deference to the PRC rulers on human rights issues, this starkly contrasted with the visits of Clinton and Bush who insisted on and got not only the release of key dissidents, but equally demanded, and received, live air time on Chinese state-run TV. Despite many technical tricks played on Clinton and Bush, there was at least a measured audience.

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