Australia election favourites vow pivot to Asia

Australia will see a "step change" in engagement with Asia and a more "considered" policy toward China if Labor wins the next election, the party's would-be foreign minister vowed Wednesday.

Penny Wong -- who would become the country's first Asian-Australian top diplomat if her party continues to lead the conservative government into the May 18 vote -- signalled the election would bring a foreign policy pivot to Asia.

Promising policies that would see more Asian languages taught in Australian schools and an increase in Aussie diplomats abroad, Malaysian-born Wong also signalled her wish to have a more constructive relationship with Beijing.

"We don't pre-emptively frame China only as a threat," she said, drawing contrast with Prime Minister Scott Morrison's administration.

Like Labour governments before, she promised a "more considered, disciplined and consistent approach to the management of Australia's relationship with China." Successive Australian administrations have struggled to