In wide-ranging talks with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Rudd also described Chinese leaders as "paranoid" about Taiwan and Tibet, and said that his push for a new Asia-Pacific body was designed to contain Chinese influence.

Rudd refused to confirm the details in the confidential memo released by Wikileaks, but defended Australia's "robust" ties with the Asian powerhouse, adding that he would not be contacting Beijing over the comments.

"It's a robust relationship and diplomacy's a robust business -- sometimes there are agreements and sometimes there are disagreements. That's life and that's normal," Rudd told reporters in Canberra.

"The business of diplomacy is not just to roll over and have your tummy tickled from time to time by the Chinese or anybody else; the business of diplomacy is to be firm about your national interest."

The State Department cable detailing a March 2009 conversation over lunch between Rudd, who was then prime minister, and Clinton in Washington states that the Australian leader described himself as a "brutal realist on China".

It said Rudd, a Mandarin-speaking former diplomat who was once posted to Beijing, argued for "multilateral engagement with bilateral vigour" in China.

He called for "integrating China effectively into the international community and allowing it to demonstrate greater responsibility, all while also preparing to deploy force if everything goes wrong", the cable states.

In the cable Rudd, now Australia's foreign minister, also said that his ambitious "Asia-Pacific Community" was designed to ensure Chinese dominance in the region did not result in "an Asia without the United States".

The Chinese foreign ministry declined to comment when asked by AFP about the cable citing Rudd.

The cable reveals Clinton affirmed Washington's desire for a successful China, with "a rising standard of living and improving democracy at a pace Chinese leaders could tolerate".

It said Washington wanted China to take greater responsibility in global economics, build a better social safety net for its citizens, and a better regulatory framework for the goods it manufactures.

But Clinton also questioned the challenges arising from Beijing's growing economic clout, asking: "How do you deal toughly with your banker?" China is the single biggest holder of US Treasury debt.

Rudd reviewed Chinese leaders for Clinton at the lunch, saying President Hu Jintao "is no (predecessor) Jiang Zemin" and opining that Hu's likely successor Xi Jinping could rise above his colleagues.

On Taiwan, Rudd told the US that the feelings of Chinese leaders were "sub-rational and deeply emotional" while hardline policies on Tibet were designed to send messages to other ethnic minorities.

Pakistan and Afghanistan were also discussed at the lunch, according to the memo, one of some 250,000 US cables being released by the whistleblowing website WikiLeaks, with Rudd saying Canberra would be prepared to offer special operations and counterinsurgency help to Pakistan should it be requested.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Rudd said that the rise of China presented new challenges but it was overwhelmingly in the interests of both the US and China "for there to be a peaceful future".

"China's national interests lie in underpinning its long-term prosperity and growth through continued stability in the Asia-Pacific region," he said.

Nations needed to move away from the "either kowtow or conflict" approach, he said. "It's normal to have disagreements in international relations, that's what diplomacy is there for," added Rudd.

The Australian government has previously condemned the release of all the cables and said it would support any US law enforcement moves against WikiLeaks, founded by Australian-born hacker Julian Assange.

"It's not for us to comment on the legality or otherwise of any individual action, it's for the proper investigatory and prosecutorial bodies to do that," Rudd said.

"There is no role for politics in all this (and) that will continue to be the position of the Australian government."

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