United States secretary of state Hillary Clinton asked Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd for his advice on dealing with the rise of China, according to a leaked diplomatic document by whistleblowing website WikiLeaks.

The conversation between Ms Clinton and Mr Rudd happened in March last year, when Mr Rudd was still prime minister.

According to the document, Ms Clinton expressed concern about China's economic rise and asked Mr Rudd: "How do you deal toughly with your banker?"

Mr Rudd responded by saying that China needed to be integrated into the international community, but that countries should be prepared to deploy force if everything goes wrong.

Mr Rudd told Ms Clinton that Australia's intelligence community was keeping a close watch on China's growing military power.

A spokeswoman for Mr Rudd says the Government will not comment on the details of US diplomatic conversations.

The release is one of a number of publications of secret US files released by WikiLeaks this year, after the site published tens of thousands of US military files from the Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts.

The leak comes as authorities close in on WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who has blasted Australia's response to the scandal, saying the Federal Government has thrown away his rights in an attempt to pander to US interests.

The 39-year-old Australian has embarrassed the US government and foreign leaders by leaking thousands of secret American diplomatic cables.

And Swedish authorities have issued a fresh arrest warrant over sex crime allegations against Mr Assange, who is believed to be hiding in Britain.

Mr Assange broke his silence in an online Q&A session for the Guardian newspaper, in which he questioned the motives of the Australian Government.

"I am an Australian citizen and I miss my country a great deal," he wrote.

"However, during the last weeks the Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, and the Attorney-General, Robert McClelland, have made it clear that not only is my return impossible but that they are actively working to assist the United States government in its attacks on myself and our people."

Ms Gillard has been heavily critical of Mr Assange, labelling him "grossly irresponsible" and calling the leaks illegal.