Press conference, China-style

“That’s it? We don’t get to ask any questions?” an Indian correspondent turned to me and asked at the end of the first BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) press briefing at the developing powers summit in Hainan on Wednesday.

Welcome to the press conference, Chinese-style.

Though Chinese officials do sometimes take impromptu questions from the media (as in the case of Hainan’s vice governor only a few hours earlier), high-level press events here tend toward the staged, often called “press conferences” when they are simply speeches with no questions allowed.

What’s interesting is how other government leaders react when placed in the Chinese press conference setting.

The five BRICS trade ministers complied with the Chinese format, though reporters mobbed them after with questions on the sidelines, as is often the case.

Of note: U.S. President Barack Obama caused a lot of grumbling with his one press conference when he visited China in 2009. Obama gave a joint statement with Chinese President Hu Jintao then turned and left a room full of hundreds of journalists wondering what they were doing there.