Gosh, who knew the Prime Minister would be acclaimed as a ‘handsome boy coming from Australia’, as announced by China’s Premier Li Qiang in the Great Hall of the People?

Was the Premier’s supposed tongue-in-cheek quip, excitedly reported by the Australian media pack travelling with Mr Albanese, another example of the arcane, diabolically convoluted diplomatic speech Chinese rulers have employed for centuries?

‘Handsome boys’ are usually thought of in terms of Peking Opera, not Prime Ministers of sovereign states.