Welcome for Chinese leader a stark contrast to Bush's mixed reception
President Hu's address to the Australian parliament and his signing of multibillion dollar trade and energy agreements yesterday crowned a triumphant four-day visit.
He was lauded by the government and opposition, feted by business leaders anxious to secure contracts for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and well received by the Australian media.
Protests, which had been threatened by pro-Tibet supporters and Falun Gong practitioners, largely failed to materialise.
The issue of human rights abuses in China received barely a mention from either Prime Minister John Howard's Liberal Party or the opposition Labor Party.
Mr Hu's reception by a joint sitting of the Australian federal parliament stood in stark contrast to that given to United States President George W. Bush the day before.
