An academic has warned Australia is at risk of becoming a "client state" of the People's Republic of China and has called for a proper and respectful debate in Tasmania about the nature of its relationship to the country.

Professor Clive Hamilton spoke to a packed room at the University of Tasmania in Hobart on Tuesday night about his book Silent Invasion: China's Influence in Australia.

Released in February this year, the book explores the Chinese Communist Party's influence and interference operations in Australia.

But it's not the first time questions have been raised over China's influence in Australia, and more specifically, Tasmania.

A proposed Chinese-owned resort and palliative care centre on Tasmania's east coast has raised concerns. ( ABC News: Tony King )

Earlier this year, concerns around foreign investment and influence were raised over plans for a $100 million resort on Tasmania's east coast.

In September, Greens leader Cassy O'Connor said she was concerned about the Tasmanian Government's relationship with the Chinese Government in relation to Antarctica.

Professor Hamilton has studied the structure of Communist Party influence operations on mainland Australia. He believes it's being replicated in Tasmania.

"I see evidence of it in politics," he said.

"Whenever anyone starts to question the role of Chinese Communist Party organisations and agents in this state, they get howled down, they're called racists and xenophobes.

"The elites, particularly the political elites in Tasmania, don't want to talk about this, but this is a matter of grave public concern."

He said the Government needs to carefully examine investment in the state.

"Every major Chinese company, including privately owned ones, has a branch of the Chinese Communist Party within the company, and it's not just a formality," he said.

"The secretary of that branch can overrule the CEO of the company if instructed to do so from Beijing.

"Of course plenty of Chinese investment in Tasmania is fine. It's legal, it's legitimate, it contributes to Tasmania's development. But the Government should be carrying out serious due diligence on these companies to decide whether they are fit and proper investors for this state."

He argues the risk for Tasmania is that its political system will become "captured" by people that are close to the Chinese Communist Party.

"The independence of the Tasmanian community to chart its own future will be diminished and even taken away in the long-term," he said.

Public interest in China's role

Mark Brown says he has concerns about China's influence on Tasmania/ ( ABC News: Kaila Rawlings )

Mark Brown attended last night's talk and said he is concerned about Australia's way of life and culture.

"I think we are naive, I think we're very laidback...and I think it's time we took real note of what is happening in our society and our backyard and our neighbourhood," he said.

Karen McCrone says people need to be informed on the matter. ( ABC News: Kaila Rawlings )

Member of the Australian China Friendship Society, Karen McCrone, described Professor Hamilton as controversial, but said she wanted to hear his opinions.

"That's why I'm here. I wanted to see where his ideas fit in with mine. We all need to be informed of both sides of any argument, any discussion. With an open mind I want to hear what he's got to say," she said.

Debate 'misinformed' says Asia Institute

Asian Institute Tasmania director, Professor James Chin, said while he would not address Professor Hamilton's concerns directly, he believes the wider debate around Chinese influence in Australia is misinformed.

"I think the reason why we're talking about China today is because for the first time in 600 years, the world is going through a profound change. We're seeing the decline of America and we're seeing the rise of an Asian superpower," he said.

But Professor Chin believes rising powers expanding their influence is just par for the course.

"Every time, if you look at history, if there's a world power coming up, you see that the world power behaves in a certain way. One of the ways that world power wants to behave is that they want influence around the world." he said.

"The fact that the Chinese are projecting their influence around the world is really nothing new."

He said the fact a non-western power was slowly become number one in the world was creating a lot of anxiety in the West.

"The West find it very difficult to deal with China because everything about the Chinese people is different. From the language, even the physical, the way they do things is so different," he said.

He said he wouldn't label it xenophobia though, and while he believes the question of Chinese influence in Australia is valid, he is not so sure it's sinister, and said it's unlikely Tasmania would be the focus.

"Tasmania has a population of just around half a million, in China that is the population of what they call a village," he said.