Obama: China has benefitted from my absence at Asia summit

US President Barack Obama said on Tuesday that China had probably taken advantage of his absence from a summit in Asia this week and he warned that the government shutdown and fiscal debate were hurting US credibility abroad.

Obama last week cancelled a trip to Indonesia and Brunei, opting to stay home and manage the US government shutdown instead of joining other world leaders at international summits being held there.

A week after the shutdown started, Republicans and Democrats are still at an impasse over how to reopen the government and raise the US debt ceiling before an October 17 deadline.

At a news conference on Tuesday, Obama said he should have been able to make the trip to help advance a trade agreement and present a counterweight to China.

“I’m sure the Chinese don’t mind that I’m not there right now,” he said. “There are areas where we have differences and they can present their point of view and not get as much push back as if I were there.”