WASHINGTON — President Obama on Sunday downplayed the altercations between Chinese and US officials over press access on the tarmac a day earlier, saying he “wouldn’t over-crank the significance” of the bizarre presidential welcome.

As Air Force Once landed in Hangzhou on Saturday, the Chinese wanted the US press to leave and shouted at White House staff as Obama disembarked from his plane for the G-20 summit. But the White House insisted it was their plane and their rules. The Chinese, who had restricted press with a blue rope to block coverage of Obama’s official welcome, shouted back: “This is our country.”

Asked about the kerfuffle Sunday, Obama said it’s not the first time there’s been “friction” about press and security access during a foreign visit because “other counties may not insist on” the same level of press access the US demands.

“We think it’s important that the press have access to the work that we’re doing, that they have the ability to answer questions. And we don’t leave our values and ideals behind when we take these trips. It can cause some friction. It’s not the first time it’s happened. It doesn’t just happen in China, it happens in other countries where we travel,” Obama said at a press conference in Hangzhou, China, with British Prime Minister Theresa May.

After Obama arrived, the tensions between Chinese and American officials continued to flare. A Chinese official attempted to block national security adviser Susan Rice from walking to the presidential motorcade on the tarmac, screaming at the top White House official. A Secret Service agent had to intervene.

Later, a group of Obama’s staffers arriving as part of the advance team at the Hangzhou’s Westlake State House were blocked from entering at a security checkpoint. For 15 minutes, the US officials and the Chinese got into heated arguments about access and one security guard looked like he was going to throw a punch. “You don’t push people. No one gave you the right to touch or push anyone around,” one official assisting the White House yelled in Chinese at the security guards, according to pool reports.

Obama, however, said the tensions are to be expected.

“I wouldn’t over-crank the significance of it, because, as I said, this is not the first time that these things happened,” the president said. “And it doesn’t just happen here.”

Separately, in a taped interview on CNN that aired Sunday, Obama said Donald Trump has been able to woo voters who feel left behind, but he feels optimistic that younger people will reject Trump’s positions of intolerance.

“He’s been able to appeal to a certain group of folks who feel left out or are worried about the rapidity of demographic change, social change, who, in some cases, have very legitimate concerns around the economy and feeling left behind,” Obama told Fareed Zakaria of the GOP nominee. “… But that’s not the majority of America. And if you talk to younger people, the next generation of Americans, they … completely reject the kinds of positions that he’s taking.”

Obama said Trump must be taken “seriously,” but he’s “optimistic” Trump’s views won’t win.

“I think that any time we hear intolerance, any time that we hear policy measures that are contrary to our values, banning certain classes of people because of who they are or what they look like, what faith they practice, then we have to be pretty hard about saying no to that,” Obama said. “And I think that America will do that this time, as well. So overall, I’m optimistic. But, you know, I think we have to pay close attention to what’s going on.”