China is becoming increasingly anxious about the Australian pushback against Chinese influence and is now looking to the Labor Party, Clive Hamilton, Vice-Chancellor's Chair and professor of public ethics at Charles Sturt University, has said.

Key points: New legislation aims to reduce Chinese influence in Australia

New legislation aims to reduce Chinese influence in Australia Professor Clive Hamilton said China seeks to establish power zone in the Pacific

Professor Clive Hamilton said China seeks to establish power zone in the Pacific He said Australia neglected its responsibility in region and China is moving to fill the vacuum

Last year, Professor Hamilton's publishers cancelled plans to publish a book he authored - titled Silent Invasion: How China Is Turning Australia into a Puppet State - citing fears of a backlash from China.

Now, Professor Hamilton believes the Australian response has "reached a crescendo" with the introduction of the new Foreign Interference legislation in early December by the Turnbull Government, and China is now looking to the Labor Party.

"No country has ever interfered in Australian politics more than the People's Republic of China," Professor Hamilton said.

"I think that the Chinese embassy sees the Labor Party as a kind of much more amenable place to go in order to persuade politicians of its point of view."

Professor Hamilton referred to the Bennelong by-election as one example of how the Labor Party is "substantially more amenable than the Coalition Government".

Last month, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announced a legislative overhaul that would ban foreign political donations and force those trying to influence Australian politics on behalf of other nations to declare who they are working for.

The new legislation — which followed months of growing concern within Australia's intelligence community about the influence of Chinese Government agents and political donations — will likely be debated from next month and go to a vote in March.

'China is moving in to fill a vacuum' left by Australia

Professor Hamilton said the proposed laws are "causing a great deal of anxiety in Beijing" because it would reduce China's ability to "shape and manipulate Australia".

"They know that the US, Canada, New Zealand, Germany — they are all watching what's happening in Australia with a view to mimicking the legislation that we are about to introduce here," he said.

Professor Hamilton said China is seeking to establish a "powerful zone of influence" in the Pacific as a bulwark against US power.

"I think what we're seeing in the last few months is, for the first time the world, kind of as a whole... are starting to see that there is definitely a downside with Chinese expansion through this huge outflow of funds being directed by the Chinese state," he said, adding that globally this is being led by Australia.

Professor Hamilton's latest comments also come amid another set of concerns from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that Chinese aid to developing countries - some in the Pacific - is laying the groundwork for a future debt crisis, adding that some recipients of Chinese loans linked to aid projects face unsustainable debt burdens.

Professor Hamilton noted that China has also very keen to incorporate wealthier countries like Australia into its One Belt, One Road initiative which has resulted in a big struggle within Australian politics with regards to how to deal with that, but he believes that critics citing economic concerns might be being naive.

He added that as a traditional "superpower" of the Pacific, Australia has largely neglected responsibility in the region and as a result "China is moving in to fill a vacuum".

Editor's Note: This story was edited on January 20 to include Professor Hamilton’s full title and additional background information.