HANGZHOU, China—If President Barack Obama was hoping for a graceful start to his final trip to Asia as commander in chief, this wasn’t it.
Confrontations between Chinese officials and White House staff and other diplomatic dust-ups were out in the open from the moment Air Force One landed in Hangzhou, where world leaders were attending 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.