Australian diplomats warned more than 40 years ago China may seek to break from the West after developing its economy and technological base, saying the Asian kingdom’s size and potential power meant it could “exploit and manipulate other countries to its own diplomatic advantage”.

As high-level dialogue between Beijing and Canberra resumes following the election of the Albanese government, a secret briefing paper prepared by the department of foreign affairs in 1980 is remarkably prescient in the risks of becoming too close to China.