Call it smart, or perhaps crazy-brave. Noteworthy at least, that a government with a majority of just one chose right now to prosecute the most muscular case against a foreign power since the Cold War, while also contesting a byelection in a seat notable for that country's nationals.

So eager is the Turnbull government to increase Bill Shorten's pain over Sam Dastyari's China connections, that it has dialled to 11 its anti-Beijing espionage/influence warnings, potentially alienating swathes of voters in Bennelong this Saturday.

And right on cue, Labor's Kristina Keneally pounced, branding Malcolm Turnbull's utterances "China-phobic rhetoric" that is causing alarm locally and thus harming John Alexander, the Liberal candidate.

As business interests – including universities – shift uncomfortably in their seats over the anti-China sentiments emanating from Canberra, the Liberal Party seems to have concluded that its 10 per cent margin in the Sydney seat is enough to withstand a small exodus of Chinese-speaking voters who feel insulted on the grounds of race.