It took Barack Obama 30 minutes yesterday to whizz through the Forbidden City in Beijing following what was characterised as a candid three-hour discussion between the US president and Hu Jintao, his Chinese counterpart. At the end of his chilly tour Mr Obama exited through the Gate of Continuous Harmony.
He will doubtless be treated to the customary barrage of disharmony by conservative critics back home about having soft-pedalled in public on the human rights criticisms that normally arise during a US presidential visit.
But US officials insist that, in private, Mr Obama had “pulled no punches”. Jeff Bader, the president's senior Asia adviser, said Mr Obama gave Mr Hu the most frank talk on human rights he had heard in his 30 years of dealing with US-China relations.