China summons Aussie ambassador over meddling allegations

Beijing has summoned the Australian ambassador to a meeting, amid a growing row over allegations of Chinese meddling in Australian politics. “Officials of our ministry had an important dialogue with the Australian ambassador,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Thursday. It was not clear when the meeting took place. “The Australian side is very clear with our position on bilateral relations and the relevant issue,” AFP quoted Lu as saying. Last week, China lodged an official protest with Canberra, after Australia’s parliament singled out China as a focus of concern when it discussed laws on foreign interference.