Canberra is ramping up pressure on Beijing over the "arbitrary detention" of Chinese-Australian writer Yang Hengjun, with a prominent Government MP demanding his release.

Key points: Mr Yang has been detained since Saturday, after flying from New York to Guangzhou

Mr Yang has been detained since Saturday, after flying from New York to Guangzhou China says Mr Yang is being held on a charge of "engaging in criminal activities endangering China's national security"

China says Mr Yang is being held on a charge of "engaging in criminal activities endangering China's national security" Andrew Hastie said the detainment "generates uncertainty in our friendship with China"

Liberal backbencher and chair of Parliament's powerful intelligence committee, Andrew Hastie, accused Beijing of coercion, and suggested the detainment of Mr Yang was designed to deter members of the Chinese diaspora from speaking out against the Communist Party.

"This action generates uncertainty in our friendship with China," Mr Hastie warned.

Mr Hastie's call has been backed by federal Labor MP Michael Danby, who said the arrest was an attempt to intimidate Chinese-Australians.

"Beijing's aggressive and vengeful behaviour with Canadian and now Australian citizens is alarming," he said.

"The arrest of Australian citizen Yung Hengjun should be of concern to all Australians."

He is urging the Australian Government to consider following the lead of the United States which has upgraded its travel advice to China, warning citizens to "exercise increased caution" due to "arbitrary enforcement of local laws".

Defence Minister Christopher Pyne met his Chinese counterpart, Wei Fenghe, in Beijing overnight and insisted Mr Yang be given consular help "without delay".

"General Wei assured Minister Pyne that, while he was not personally aware of the case, Mr Yang would be treated well and that the General would seek further information," Mr Pyne said in a statement.

China said it was holding the blogger and outspoken political commentator on a charge of "engaging in criminal activities endangering China's national security".

The 53-year-old has been in "residential detention" in an undisclosed location since flying from New York to Guangzhou on Saturday and, as yet, has not been granted access to consular assistance.

'A very unsettling precedent for Australia'

Mr Hastie blasted the "arbitrary detention", describing Mr Yang as a "courageous public intellectual" who has advocated democracy and the rule of law.

"It is possible that his arbitrary detention was designed to deter members of the Australian Chinese diaspora from talking openly and honestly about political questions near to their hearts," he said.

"It is also possible that this is an act of Chinese statecraft designed to serve Chinese interests in a larger geopolitical landscape."

Mr Hastie said the recent arrest of two Canadians, and the death sentence handed to a third, set a "very unsettling precedent for Australia" and other countries close to China.

Canadian Robert Lloyd Schellenberg was sentenced to death in China. ( CCTV )

"It is a worrying trend when it appears that the principles of transparency, accountability and rule of law are traded cheaply for strategic leverage," he said.

"There is only one way to make this right: Dr Yang needs to reappear on an Australia-bound aircraft in the next few days."

It is not the first time Mr Yang has been detained by Chinese authorities.

In 2011, he disappeared for more than two days after claiming he was being followed at an airport in Guangzhou, before resurfacing.

Mr Yang was a Chinese diplomat before moving to Australia and becoming a citizen nearly 20 years ago. He now lives in the United States where he works as an academic, and on the side, pens spy novels.