BEIJING — As he dives into the heart of his trip to China, U.S. President Barack Obama is finding it hard to bring his trademark charisma to bear.

Mr. Obama is slated to meet Chinese President Hu Jintao on Tuesday, after which the two will make statements to be broadcast live on Chinese television. But that is likely to be the only chance he has to address the Chinese people directly. A town-hall event Monday that was supposed to highlight Mr. Obama’s common touch ended up being a tightly scripted affair.

U.S. President Barack Obama greets participants in a town hall-style meeting in Shanghai.

The net effect is that the trip, which isn’t expected to yield major substantive agreements, isn’t likely to give Mr. Obama much of a symbolic victory either. Longtime observers say the visit, which ends Wednesday, is one of the most tightly controlled in recent memory, with Mr. Obama afforded none of the opportunities to reach Chinese people given to his two predecessors.

“The mystery is the lack of public contact,” said David Shambaugh, a professor of Chinese studies at George Washington University, currently on a fellowship in China. “He’s a populist politician but he’s not getting any interaction with Chinese people.”

According to U.S. and Chinese officials, the itinerary has been sharply contested by both sides. The U.S. wanted a chance for Mr. Obama’s telegenic personality to shine through and make a case for greater freedoms, but Chinese officials pushed back, according to a Chinese media insider. The Chinese side was wary of making Mr. Obama look more accessible than China’s own politicians, who appear on television only during highly scripted moments, such as inspection tours.

 

News Hub: Obama Urges Web Freedom in China

1:21 At a town hall style meeting in Shanghai, President Obama makes a pitch for Internet freedom. Washington bureau chief John Bussey comments on the significance in the News Hub.

Senior administration officials defended the trip and rejected negative comparisons to a longer, more free-wheeling visit by President Bill Clinton.

A packed agenda in Asia meant Mr. Obama had to keep the visit to China short, said David Axelrod, one of Mr. Obama’s senior advisers. Mr. Obama had to stop first in Japan, join the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Singapore, and stop by South Korea for consultations on a pressing foreign-policy issue: North Korea. “Clinton came for more than a week, which gave him the latitude to do a variety of things and to meet with more people. We’re here for 2½ days,” Mr. Axelrod said.

Mr. Hu and Mr. Obama will meet the press Tuesday, though they won’t take questions. Mr. Obama will spend the afternoon sightseeing and attend a state dinner, with an invitation list controlled by the Chinese, people familiar with the planning said.

On Wednesday, Mr. Obama is due to meet Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and then fly out in the afternoon. None of the meetings are expected to result in significant agreements. This contrasts with President Clinton’s trip to China in 1998, when he had four opportunities to speak to the Chinese, including an uncensored live interview on China Central Television and speeches to Chinese students. At the time, China courted Mr. Clinton, who was making the first presidential visit to China since the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

In 2002, President George W. Bush made a speech to Chinese university students extolling political and religious freedom. It was broadcast on national television. The U.S. is now in a far weaker position, with its economy racked by financial crisis and its military engaged in two wars. “The U.S. is not able to force its agenda on China anymore,” said Shi Yinhong, a professor at People’s University in Beijing.

The differences were apparent in the meeting in Shanghai with Chinese youth. It was meant to be a town-hall-style event — which normally features open discussions from audience members who choose to participate. Mr. Obama addressed a group of selected young people from the Shanghai area, some of whom said they had been bused in for the event after “training.”

—Aaron Back contributed to this article.