Obama is no longer employed by the government; he can go where he wants and do what he wants; he did not die after his presidency. He isn't going to sit home and knit the rest of his life. He has a foundation just like Bush has a foundation and Bush traveled around the world, too, using his foundation for good. This Obama trip is about his foundation.
Obama will be meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping. Trump was welcomed in the official China state reception less than two weeks ago.
So what the heck is the X-president (and X-opposition party leader) Obama, doing coming in behind the current president? Does Obama have plans to undermine President Trump? Maybe sway Jinping in some way?
This is unseemly, and likely unprecedented, for a former president to meddle in a current security situation (China’s client state, North Korea’s saber rattling with nuclear weapons).