Prime Minister Scott Morrison has attacked Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews for signing a deal with China over a controversial infrastructure initiative, saying the Premier should have discussed the deal with him first.

Key points: Federal Government has also signed a confidential agreement with China over the project

Federal Government has also signed a confidential agreement with China over the project Premier says deal will benefit Victorian businesses

Premier says deal will benefit Victorian businesses Victorian Opposition says it will try to make details public if it wins election

Mr Andrews and Chinese ambassador to Australia Cheng Jingye finalised a memorandum of understanding on China's One Belt One Road policy last month, making Victoria the first and only Australian state to support President Xi Jinping's global trade initiative.

Interviewed on Sydney radio station 2GB this morning, Mr Morrison said the deal came as a surprise to him.

"Foreign policy is the domain of the Commonwealth Government," Mr Morrison said.

"When these things happen then that creates mixed messages, and it would've been helpful if they [Victoria] had been a bit more engaging on that," he said.

Mr Morrison said Mr Andrews should make the deal public.

"He should be upfront with the Victorian electors, I mean, he's in the middle of an election at the moment," he said.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 1 minute 29 seconds 1 m 29 s China attempts global dominance with One Belt One Road project

Campaigning in Melbourne this morning, Mr Andrews defended the deal and said the secrecy surrounding it was in line with the Federal Government's approach to such agreements.

"The Government perhaps wants to check with its own Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade the protocol," he said.

"The longstanding protocol is that these matters are not made public, and I think there might even be some agreements that the Federal Government has signed up to that have been similarly treated."

When asked whether he had concerns about China's human rights record, Mr Andrews said the deal would have huge economic benefits for Victoria.

"We are a state government. Some of those matters are rightly the province of the Federal Government," he said.

"Creating jobs in Victoria though, I see very much as part of my job."

When asked about the Commonwealth's agreement with China over One Belt One Road while on a trade mission in Shanghai yesterday, Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said convention dictated that such agreements were only released when both parties consented to their release.

"That's not the case in terms of Australia's current agreement," Mr Birmingham said.

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Victorian Opposition Leader Matthew Guy promised to release the agreement if the Coalition won the state election on November 24.

"We will absolutely make it public," he said.

"Victorians have a right to know what their government has signed them up to and they should absolutely know the details.

"Should we come to government in 18 days … we'll let Victorians know what they are."

A DFAT spokesperson said the department had discussed the proposed memorandum of understanding with the Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet in June.

"The Government was not informed that an MOU was signed until it was announced on 25 October," the spokesperson said.

"We did not see the final version of the text of the agreement until after the announcement."

Under the massive plan first unveiled in 2013, China wants to revive an ancient network of land and ocean silk trade routes and has already spent billions of dollars on new infrastructure projects for roads, railways, ports and maritime corridors.

So far, 68 countries including New Zealand have signed up to the signature project of President Xi Jinping, which marks his nation's plans to expand its power in the region and beyond.