BEIJING – China completed its stint as Olympic host Sunday with a superstar-studded closing ceremony that capped a 16-day pageant of state-of-the-art logistics and astounding athletic feats, set out for a curious world. The games did little, though, to erase concerns about the emerging superpower’s approach to human rights.

Yet even as the International Olympic Committee was praising itself for awarding Beijing these Olympics, the U.S. Embassy urged China to free foreign activists jailed for protesting at the games.

China, the embassy suggested, should have used its moment in the global spotlight to show “greater tolerance and openness.”

China nonetheless achieved its paramount goals: a dominant effort by its athletes to top the gold-medal standings for the first time and near-flawless organizing that showcased world-class venues and smiling volunteers to the largest-ever peaceful influx of foreign visitors.

As a bonus, not just one but two athletes gave arguably the greatest performances in Olympic history – Michael Phelps with his eight gold medals in swimming, Jamaica’s effervescent Usain Bolt with three golds and three world records in the sprints.

The head of the Beijing organizing committee, Liu Qi, said the games were “testimony to the fact that the world has rested its trust in China.”

He called them “a grand celebration of sport, of peace and friendship.”

China invested more than $40 billion in the games, which it viewed as a chance to show the world its dramatic economic progress. Olympic telecasts achieved record ratings in China and the United States, and the games’ presence online was by far the most extensive ever.

IOC President Jacques Rogge said these Olympics would leave a lasting, positive legacy for China – improved transportation infrastructure, more grass-roots interest in recreational sports, a more aggressive approach to curbing air pollution and other environmental problems.

Rogge acknowledged that China, despite promises of press freedom during the games, continued to block access to numerous politically oriented Web sites, including those related to Tibet and the outlawed spiritual movement Falun Gong.

However, he contended that media restrictions were looser during the Olympics than beforehand, “and so we believe the games had a good influence.”

Human rights groups disagreed.

“The reality is that the Chinese government’s hosting of the games has been a catalyst for abuses, leading to massive forced evictions, a surge in the arrest, detention and harassment of critics, repeated violations of media freedom, and increased political repression,” said Sophie Richardson of Human Rights Watch.

Led by Phelps and Bolt, athletes broke 43 world records and 132 Olympic records during the games.