New footage shows President Obama barge into meeting of world leaders to ensure face-to-face talks with Chinese Premier.
BECOMING President opens many doors – but inevitably it’s the ones that are still shut to you that are the most interesting – especially if the man who least wants to speak is the Chinese Premier.
New BBC documentary series ‘Inside The White House’ dramatically encapsulates that moment after the US President was snubbed by the leader of his rival world power in climate talks.
In previously unseen footage, President Barack Obama tracks down the Chinese leader Wen Jiabao who has been avoiding face-to-face talks, instead setting up a hush-hush meeting with developing nations India, South Africa and Brazil.
Ignoring protocol, President Obama stalks the corridors of the Danish convention centre to gatecrash the meeting as he pushes for a last minute world climate deal during tense negotiations on the final day of a major summit in Copenhagen in 2009.
Amazing moment Obama confronts Chinese Premier
In an unprecedented move the President elbows his way past crowds of officials to confront the four other world leaders in a cramped office.
To astonished looks, he demands: “Are you ready for me or you guys need to talk some more? It’s up to you. Come on. What do you think? Premier are you ready for me or do you want to wait?”
After a pause, which still gives international diplomats palpitations to this day, the President is finally waved in and he and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are allowed to grab a chair and join the meeting in a crowded side room with just hours before the talks break up.
Already around the table are India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Brazil’s President Lula and South Africa’s President Zuma and the Chinese Premier.
President Obama had become impatient believing the Chinese leader was avoiding him, after the Chinese only sent Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei to a crucial meeting of 25 world leaders trying to cobble together a last minute climate deal at the Danish conference.
That meeting had quickly turned to stalemate with China and India refusing to accept carbon targets before it was finally being adjourned by the embarrassed Chinese official, who called for a suspension of “only a few minutes.” But it never resumed and as time dragged on and talks failed to restart, the President instead sought to arrange to meet the Chinese Premier in person, only to be told Premier Jiabao was already on the way to the airport.
However minutes later US staff reported the Chinese delegation had instead been sighted meeting with other nations in separate part of the convention centre.
Instead the president and his retinue marched to the small glass office, where Obama politely demands an audience with the Chinese leader.
Jeff Bader, Obama’s China adviser, told noted documentary maker Norma Percy from makers Brook Lapping: “President Wen Jaibao forced a big smile and signalled: ‘Here have a seat…”
“President Obama told him: ‘I have other things to do. I don’t have to be here. If you are all not interested in having an agreement. Fine, but I think it would be worth a bit of your time.’
“Wen Jiabao pretty clearly signalled he wanted to get the thing to a positive outcome,” Mr Bader added.
US negotiator Michale Froman said: “At the end of the day there was one final issue to be resolved and the President said: ‘Will you confirm that China will list in the annexe the actions it intends to take. We waited for the translations to go through. Premier Wen said ‘Yes’ and at that point there was an explosion of yelling in the room on the Chinese side, in Mandarin, and lots of back and forth among the Chinese officials.
“We all looked at the interpreter with anticipation and the interpreter said: ‘Internal discussion only’ – and at that point we knew we had achieved something quite meanful.
The agreement finally resulted in a disappointing, non binding political accord after the showdown on December 18, 2009.
However President Obama told the Brook Lapping documentary team in an exclusive interview for the series: “Although it was perceived as a failure that actually planted the seed for subsequent success.” A wide-ranging agreement was later made between President Obama and later Chinese leader Xi Jinping in November, 2014
Watch: Inside Obama’s White House. BBC2 Tuesday 9pm.
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