He used that gesture in China, where it is considered old-fashioned and extremely weird in business contexts. A simple handshake would have sufficed, but Kerry had to show his ignorance, embarrass his country, and insult his hosts, all so that he could pretend that he was "enlightened" about Asia. Whata dork!
In Thailand, the gesture is meant as a courteous greeting in some situations. Totally inappropriate for a diplomat in this context.
I was not aware of the blunder of his specific gestures in Asian cultural.
But I’d figure that in any culture, when beautiful young woman dancers are performing, a spastic old man who jumped up to join them would be considered a royal ass.