Australia politician Sam Dastyari quits over China ties

Lintao Zhang | Getty Images

Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) shakes hands with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, China, on September 4, 2016.

Beijing has since filed a complaint with Canberra, while the Chinese embassy in Australia also posted a retaliatory statement.

According to Reuters, China is Australia’s biggest trade partner, buying A$93 billion ($70 billion) of goods and services in 2016.

But, Australia is a member of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance alongside the U.S., the U.K., Canada and New Zealand.

“Concerns about Chinese influence in Australia aren’t new, but they are certainly more front and center now than ever before,” Ely Ratner, senior fellow for China studies at the Washington D.C.-based thinktank Council on Foreign Relations, told CNBC.

Ratner said that Turnbull had “responded swiftly and responsibly,” adding that “Canberra’s reaction will build confidence in Washington that its close ally is taking the China challenge more seriously than ever.”