Sydney | China's state-sponsored media has called on the Morrison government not to allow Australian defence think tank, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), to "hold bilateral ties hostage" as Beijing ramps up pressure on Canberra to engage with China to get relations back on track.

The China Daily said the US election offered Australia an opportunity to change trajectory on China but it would have to stop listening to "anti-China organisations" to get the relationship back on track, according to an editorial published on Tuesday.