Sydney - Australia Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has sought to make light of strained diplomatic relations with China by telling an anecdote about how sentiments can easily get lost in translation.
Rudd, a Mandarin-speaking former diplomat and self-avowed Sinophile, told students at the Australian National University about an error he made as a junior envoy in Beijing.
"Apparently, what I'd said as I sought to elevate his expression into a more classical form, was that China and Australia are currently experiencing fantastic mutual orgasm," he said, delivering a speech late on Thursday.
"Ever since then, our Chinese friends have remembered my visits to Beijing, (saying) 'Ah, you were the one...'," added Rudd.
"Perhaps that explains some of the challenges in our current relationship with the Chinese."
Relations have been tested in recent months with a series of bruising rows over the detention of a Rio Tinto mining executive on allegations of bribery and industrial espionage during tense iron ore talks.
Australia also raised China's ire by granting a visa to exiled Uighur dissident Rebiya Kadeer, whom Beijing accuses of inciting violence in restive Xinjiang region.
Two-way trade between the countries was worth 58 billion US dollars last year and rapidly expanding China has made a series of takeover bids for Australian mining companies.
Its demand for metals and other resources has underpinned a decade of stellar growth for Australia's economy. - Sapa-AFP
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