Philip Wen is the China correspondent for Fairfax Media.
In Australia, China's short-term game is to buy the government's silence on the South China Sea, making it clear there would be ramifications if it were to follow the US lead and send warships on freedom of navigation missions in the disputed waters.
It is a masterful lesson in how to put your circles of influence to work.
Embattled Labor Senator Sam Dastyari has broken his silence over the Chinese payments furore, declaring he made a "mistake" by allowing his legal and travel bills to be picked up by donors.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has condemned North Korea for its fresh round of "dangerous, destabilising and provocative" ballistic missile tests.
The most senior figures in the Coalition government have pressured Opposition Leader Bill Shorten over the Sam Dastyari donations scandal, seeking to elevate the issue as a test of his leadership and demanding further questions be answered.
China has accused Australia of bowing to protectionist sentiment for blocking the Ausgrid bid, as well as for an earlier decision against a Chinese-led consortium to buy cattle company Kidman & Co.
Huang Xiangmo, a highly-influential figure in Australian-Chinese business circles, has attracted widespread media scrutiny after donating more than $1 million to both sides of politics.
Chinese businessmen with links to Foreign Minister Julie Bishop donated half a million dollars to the minister's Western Australian division of the Liberal Party during the past two years, raising questions about the propriety of foreign donations being linked to ministers with trade and diplomatic responsibilities.
As Malcolm Turnbull prepares to embark on his first official visit to China as prime minister, some 60 Chinese community leaders in Australia gathered in Sydney urging him to watch his words when discussing the South China Sea in Beijing.
Julie Bishop has arrived to a frosty reception in Beijing after being rapped over Australia's stance on the South China Sea ahead of a series of high-level meetings in the Chinese capital.
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