Chinese photographers and other media personnel tussled with Secret Service agents, White House staff and American journalists in multiple chaotic scenes around Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the White House on Thursday.
Videos recorded by AFP correspondent Danny Kemp and others, including Christian Datoc of the Washington Examiner, show Chinese traveling press photographers attempting to occupy positions closer to the arrival area than those assigned by White House staff.
In the footage, individuals pointed towards preferred spots while Secret Service agents and White House personnel gesture for them to remain in designated areas. A woman in a red jacket, part of the Chinese press group, engages in close conversation with officials, while photographers with large telephoto lenses sat and stood in a tight group.
Voices were repeatedly raised, and one agent is heard repeating that certain locations are unavailable because they would obstruct the official White House photographer. The exchange lasts roughly 90 seconds before positions were adjusted and the ceremony proceeded.
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A separate clip circulating online shows a Chinese photographer making physical contact with an American reporter while both groups move through a doorway from the briefing room area toward an Oval Office meeting. Journalists from both countries had also jostled inside the Brady Briefing Room earlier when it appeared the Oval Office session might briefly open to cameras.
These events occurred against a backdrop of ongoing press-access arrangements. This past May, during Trump’s visit to Beijing, Chinese reporters rushed into a bilateral meeting space, knocking down a White House advance staff member who was left bruised. Additional arguments arose when
Chinese officials delayed a Secret Service agent carrying a firearm and temporarily held U.S. reporters from rejoining the presidential motorcade. Voices were raised on both sides before the American group proceeded.
In the days immediately preceding Xi’s visit, three U.S. outlets — Politico, MS Now and CNN — were temporarily barred from the complex pending a court ruling.
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