The Turnbull government is spending nearly $10 million on an advertising campaign and public relations push to sell the benefits of the Coalition's free trade agreements with China, Japan and South Korea.

As the government ratchets up pressure on Labor to renounce its opposition to elements of the China free trade agreement, tender documents show a publicly funded ad blitz has been approved even before legislation facilitating the agreement has passed Parliament.

The $9 million cost of the campaign and PR elements is equal to that spent on Tony Abbott's ad blitz against the ice scourge and outstrips the $7.8 million spent by Labor and the Coalition on pushing the benefits of Australia's hardline border protection policy to Australians.

Senator Nick Xenophon said airing ads before Parliament has even voted to endorse the China deal amounted to "party political advertising at taxpayer's expense".