China warns of rise of Australian 'hawks'

Malcolm Turnbull and Julie Bishop. Photo / AP

It seems Julie Bishop's resignation hasn't gone down too well in China.

The state-run Global Times newspaper has taken Marise Payne's move into Bishop's role as Australian Foreign Affairs Minister - and Scott Morrison's ascension to Prime Minister - as a sign Australian "hawks" will take a bigger role in foreign policy.

Payne, who was appointed Minister for Defence under the Turnbull Government in 2015, was sworn in as Foreign Minister yesterday.

According to Fairfax, the newspaper quoted Zhou Fangyin, dean of the School of International Studies at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, as saying Payne's new role signified "the Australian defence and security sector's influence on foreign policy will become more direct, and the US's policy impact on Australia will become more direct".

It followed a similar opinion piece published by the newspaper on Sunday questioning whether Morrison will take the initiative on diplomatic relations with Beijing.

The article notes Australia's "frozen" relationship with China over the past 18 months under the Turnbull Government, which it attributes to his government's foreign interference laws. "Turnbull has ... set a new precedent of antagonism toward China," it read.