China's visiting foreign minister has taken an apparent subtle swipe at the Abbott government, saying his country "may not be Australia's closest friend at the moment".

The remark by Wang Yi, who arrived in Australia on Sunday, was an apparent reference to Prime Minister Tony Abbott's controversial observation last year that Japan was Australia's "closest friend in Asia" – breaching the common rule of not ranking diplomatic relationships.

Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Julie Bishop welcomes her Chinese counterpart Minister Wang Yi to Australia. Credit:James Alcock

But Mr Wang otherwise was full of praise for Australia, urging it to become a bridge between the East and West.

Mr Wang is in Australia ahead of a state visit in November by Chinese President Xi Jinping and will discuss with counterpart Julie Bishop progress on a free trade agreement, security in the East China and South China Seas, defence ties and the crisis in the Middle East.