The Obama-factor aside, one should possibly be concerned that if the actions are more at HIM personally, or the office of the Presidency in the generic sense, and the U.S. as a whole, and our relations are actually "that bad".
I also wonder if the snubbing Obama show wasn't for the benefit (or detriment) of Obama and the U.S. but instead really just for "internal consumption" to bolster patriotic zeal within China itself. To distract attention from their massive economic bubble problems etc.