The confrontation between President Obama and the CCTV business channel anchor Rui Chenggang at the G-20 summit was a conflict over saving face.

Obama’s confidence that South Korea would sign the free trade agreement with the U.S. proved to be misunderstood. American critics say it’s really an “embarrassing disappointment” for President Obama. To save face and display that America can still be good partners with Korea, Obama offered Korean journalists a chance to ask him a question. Usually in Obama’s press conferences, he assigns journalists specific questions to ask.

During the summit in Korea, only American journalists who had accompanied him had chances to ask questions, so opening the floor to Korean press was a deliberate face-saving act by President Obama. He said, “I feel obliged to take maybe one question from Korean press, since you guys have been such excellent hosts.”   The “excellent hosts” refused to open its market to U.S. automobiles, an act which could bring as many as 70,000 jobs in the U.S.

Unfortunately, the Korean press wasn’t thrilled to take the invitation and help Obama save face. Finally, the journalist Rui Chenggang stood up after 30 seconds of embarrassing silence, apologizing with mock sincerity, “Unfortunately, I hate to disappoint you, President Obama. I’m actually Chinese.” Rui wrote in his blog that he felt the silence was so embarrassing, both for the president and for the Korean press, that he needed to do something to lessen the tension.

Saving face is such an important concept in Asian culture, where shame and honor are valued much higher than in European and American society. Rui felt ashamed of being an Asian in this circumstance and felt he must do something to save the face of Asians. So he said, “I think I get to represent the entire Asia,” thereby discounting the experiences of the Korean press and homogenizing Asian cultures.

Though Obama replied that Rui could “absolutely” represent the entire Asia, Obama was shocked and rapidly losing his composure. The United States has already displayed fear that Asian countries are working simultaneously, so Rui’s attempts to ask a question “on behalf of Asia” was particularly threatening.

As Obama struggled to reassert himself, he insisted, “In fairness though, I did say that I was gonna let the Korean press ask a question,” as he scanned the audience for another question from the Korean press. Still, no takers! Obama laughed a hollow laugh and  nervously  commented, “This is getting more complicated than I expected!”

Members of the Korean press must have been deciding whether or not to stand up during the pause and alleviate the awkwardness. If they had decided to ask a question in lieu of Rui, they would be denying an opportunity to China, a country that holds 20 percent of Korea’s foreign trade. By denying the question, they refused the olive branch that Obama was trying to offer. Whose face is more important to the Korean press? In the end, Korea refused the question and Rui continued to press his question, much to Obama’s  embarrassment.

However, Obama didn’t have to wait in the awkward silence for so long before Rui urged him to “take a quick question from Asia.” Rui was actually attempting to save Obama’s face by offering him a way out, but Obama didn’t seem to appreciate this attempt. He finally  hesitantly  permitted Rui to ask a question. Rui asked about “interpretation,” which is not a headache question for President Obama.

Finally, a white journalist stood up after another long silence and asked Obama a question, “Do you think you can really convince people living in Korea buying more American beef?” Another face-saving question!

How did all these actions work out?

Look at Rui first. CCTV reported this confrontation but cut out the part that Rui was trying to represent the entire Asia. Rui was warmly welcomed by most netizens and was later nominated as one of the best CCTV anchors. But in comments under Youtube video clips about this confrontation, Rui is highly criticized for attempting to represent China, Korea and the entirety of Asia.

Obama was forced to handle the situation with less ease than expected. People felt sorry and even sympathetic towards him, while simultaneously mocking his efforts. One commenter called Obama “a joke.” Certainly, Obama didn’t seem to save face successfully.

As for the Korean press, it has been widely criticized for its silence. Declining Obama’s invitation to ask a question absolutely didn’t save it any face. The face-saving conflict had a face-losing conclusion.