Chinese State Media Crews Clash With White House Staff Ahead of Xi Visit

Members of the Chinese state media contingent pushed for camera positions and repeatedly argued with White House personnel ahead of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s arrival on Sept. 24, according to reporters at the scene.

The disputes began before Xi reached the White House, where President Donald Trump was hosting him for talks.

Connor Stringer, a reporter for The Telegraph, posted videos showing members of the traveling Chinese press corps jostling for position.

“Lots of shouting and raised voices as they refuse to move for Secret Service,” Stringer wrote on X.

In one of the videos Stringer posted, a Chinese cameraman attempted to remain at the front and stepped on a woman’s feet. Another member of the Chinese media contingent then reminded him in Chinese to squat down slightly.

Stringer also recalled an incident during Trump’s May visit to Beijing in which members of the Chinese press corps rushed toward a bilateral meeting and a White House staff member was knocked down.

The Sept. 24 disputes continued as U.S. and Chinese media competed for positions to cover Trump and Xi at the White House.

The Epoch Times reporter Emel Akan, who was at the White House, separately described repeated confrontations between Chinese camera crews and White House staff.

“The Chinese camera people had constant fights with the White House staff,” Akan said. “One cameraman next to me constantly argued with the White House wranglers. They are very competitive.”

The journalists were members of the Chinese media contingent covering Xi’s visit, including personnel from Chinese Communist Party-controlled state outlets.

During the Rose Garden events, one Chinese media photographer climbed onto the tallest ladder set up for the official White House photographer without first asking to use it and was later told to come down.

The events eventually prompted a Secret Service agent to issue a warning to a leader of the Beijing contingent, according to a report from the Chinese edition of The Epoch Times.

Daily Wire White House correspondent Mary Margaret Olohan also described the Chinese media contingent as physically aggressive and unwilling to follow instructions from White House staff and Secret Service personnel.

“For context—the U.S. press is of course aggressive, but Chinese press are physically aggressive and outright refuse to listen to staff and Secret Service,” Olohan wrote on X.

Lin Yan and Emel Akan contributed to this report.