Gyngell, however, said it was a calculated strategy from Rudd, whose intimate knowledge of China allowed him to gauge how far he could push the Tibet issue in Beijing without seriously offending local sensibilities.

“It went as well as could be expected,” Gyngell said. “He gave a forthright assessment of the West’s view on Tibet to the next generation of Chinese leaders at Beijing University.

“He also sent a message to China that its relationship with Australia is not all about trade, that there will be areas on which the two countries will have to agree to disagree.

“It deepened the relationship in many ways and showed that it is multi-faceted.”

Australian National University professor of Chinese history Geremie Barme agreed, saying Rudd had pressed home the message that a true friend pointed out faults, rather than staying silent when something was wrong.

“In doing so, he rewrote the rules of engagement in a way that can only benefit Australia and our relationship with this important country,” Barme said.

While Rudd’s remarks on Tibet were largely ignored by China’s state-controlled media, the rest of his speech was enthusiastically reported on front pages across the country, indicating Beijing had not taken deep offense.

His decision to speak out on Tibet while in China was applauded by the British press, with the Guardian saying British Prime Minister Gordon Brown should take note in an article headlined, “Watch and learn, Mr. Brown: nerds can be winners, too.”

An editorial in the Independent took a similar line.

“With his plain speaking, his firm principles as a politician and — a bit of a luxury, this — his fluent Mandarin, Mr. Rudd has not only met our expectations, but inspired not a little envy as well,” it said.

The praise prompted Sydney Morning Herald political columnist Annabel Crabb, who has previously suggested the prime minister is a “sophisticated humanoid Ruddbot”, to joke that Australia, where Rudd enjoys a 73 percent approval rating, had “created a monster.”

“Before we sent our Ruddbot out into the world, he was our nerd. Now, after two weeks of exposure, he’s everyone’s favorite nerd,” she wrote.

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