China summons Australian ambassador

China has summoned the Australian ambassador to Beijing following tensions between the two countries over reports of alleged meddling in Canberra's internal affairs.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang confirmed on Thursday that the officials of his department had an "important dialogue" with Ambassador Jan Adams, reports Efe news.

"The Australian side is very clear with our position on bilateral relations and the relevant issue," Lu told the media.

Recent reports in the Australian media had accused Beijing of interfering in Australia's internal affairs and led to the resignation of Labour Party Senator Sam Dastyari.

According to the reports, in 2015, Dastyari had tried to influence the party's deputy leader, Tanya Plibersek, against meeting a pro-democracy Hong Kong activist.

Following the news reports, the Australian government had announced tougher measures to root out foreign interference in its internal matters, including a ban on political donations and broadening the definition of espionage.

Beijing had labelled the media reports as paranoid and racist, and urged Australia to reject its "Cold War mentality" in the interest of good bilateral ties.

--IANS

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