"I wouldn't overcrank the significance" of tensions at the airport, Mr Obama told a news conference in the Chinese city of Hangzhou, where global leaders are convening for a summit.
Mr Obama's last scheduled trip to China before leaving office got off to an awkward start soon after Air Force One landed in Hangzhou when a Chinese security official blocked National Security Adviser Susan Rice on the tarmac.
He prevented her from walking to the motorcade as she crossed a media rope line, speaking angrily to her before a Secret Service agent stepped between the two.