PM Scott Morrison defiant in the face of China's 'grievance list'

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said Australia will pursue its own interests regardless of US or Chinese pressure, as tensions between Canberra and Beijing increase.

Mr Morrison last night spoke to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who hailed the UK-Australia free trade deal.

But Mr Morrison also spoke about where Australia stood in the Pacific.

READ MORE: How 9News broke the latest diplomatic scuffle between Canberra and Beijing

"We must be true to our values and the protection of our own sovereignty," he said.

The statement followed the Chinese embassy's leaking to 9News of 14 grievances the Beijing government has with Australia.

They included blocking Chinese companies from buying Australian businesses on national security grounds, banning telco giant Huawei from the rollout of next-generation wireless technology, passing foreign interference laws, calling for an inquiry into the origins of COVID-19, criticising Beijing's illegal occupation of islands in the South China Sea, and criticism of the Chinese Communist Party.

Mr Morrison rejected the claim that Australia was simply following the lead of the US.

"It's as if Australia does not have its own unique interests or its own views as an independent, sovereign state. This is just false," he said.

"We all need a bit more room to move."

READ MORE: PM refuses to bow to China over trade barriers

But Beijing has laid all the blame for worsening relations between the countries at Australia's feet.

Former foreign minister Bob Carr has also criticised the Australian government.

"It's almost as if Australia's lost their capacity for diplomacy," he said.