Australian opposition leader brands China's development as strategic opportunity

Australian opposition leader Bill Shorten has taken to Chinese social media platform WeChat to proclaim that he appreciates China's peaceful development.

Bill Shorten, leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), hosted a live session on WeChat on Wednesday, fielding questions from approximately 500 Chinese Australians about their concerns in the lead-up to May's general election.

Shorten said he received a lot of questions about Michael Daley, former leader of the New South Wales (NSW) Labor Party.

A video surfaced in the final week of the NSW election campaign, which was won by the incumbent Liberal-National Party Coalition (LNP), of Daley telling an audience at a 2018 function that "Asians with PhDs" were taking Australian jobs.

"I just want to make clear, as the leader of the federal Labor Party I don't agree with what he said and the comments should not have been made," Shorten told his WeChat audience.

Some participants in the session asked the opposition leader about the ALP's policy towards China.

"I see China as a strategic opportunity for Australia and I want to see greater mutual understanding between all of us," he said.

Shorten also said his party was "pro-immigrant" and would make it easier for Chinese people who migrated to Australia to bring their parents to the country on a sponsored visa.

"Labor wants to make sure you never have to pick which parents you want to bring to Australia."