The World

By Geoff Dyer, FT China bureau chief

Barack Obama is preparing to get on Air Force One en route to Japan to start his first presidential visit to Asia. Yet one of the centerpieces of his three days in China, a town-hall style meeting in Shanghai, is also still up in the air.

The White House had hoped the Monday morning forum would be President Obama’s one big chance to try and communicate directly with young Chinese people.

But as of this morning, according to a source familiar with the negotiations, there was still no agreement with the Chinese authorities on who would be present or how the question-and-answer session would work. And, most importantly for the White House, there was also no decision on whether it would be broadcast live on television and on the internet.

There is some precedent here. When Bill Clinton visited China in 1998, he ended up appearing live on radio and television on four separate occasions, including a discussion with then Chinese president Jiang Zemin when they debated religion, human rights and the 1989 Tiananmen Square protest movement. An FT report on the Clinton visit noted that by allowing the live broadcasts, “the Chinese government offered tantalising glimpses of prospects of greater political openness”.

Presidential visits always involve last-minute haggling, especially in China. But if the event ends up being cancelled, which my source says is possible, it would be hugely embarrassing to both sides – Obama would look as if he was muffled by his hosts while China would come across as being afraid of its own people.