Gestures matter to the Chinese leadership at least as much as they do to Canadians, and while a videotaped tribute might be over the top, he could repair any early mayhem caused by the focus on currency manipulation.

Leahy also appeared in a videotaped tribute to the Dead when they received a lifetime achievement award at the 2002 Jammys.

Two years later, at NASCAR's awards banquet in New York City, he introduced a videotaped tribute to Dale Earnhardt, who had died at the Daytona 500 some months earlier.

Before he spoke, a videotaped tribute, of sorts, was shown: Mr. Lautenberg's campaign commercials from 1982, 1988 and 1994.

But banqueters interrupted a videotaped tribute from Patriarch Bartholomew with cries of "No!"

Mrs. Reagan, a slim and tiny figure, was greeted by a torrent of applause as she walked out onto the stage of the convention hall after a gauzy videotaped tribute to Ronald Reagan.

In a videotaped tribute to Mr. Bush, the narrator said, "He's focused on the public good, not partisan gain."

Forget the videotaped tribute to the 1996 Yankees and the unveiling of a championship banner.

There was also a videotaped tribute from the conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, and excerpts from the 1994 ceremony in which Mr. Gould was awarded the Kennedy Center Honors.

"Tom, please hang in there," Jesse Helms, the former senator from North Carolina, said in a videotaped tribute.