'Why would he be doing that?': McGowan hits out at PM's warning to China over trade rules

Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan has said he "doesn't understand" why Prime Minister Scott Morrison would warn China over trade risks when Australia has so much to benefit from the relationship.

Asked about Mr Morrison's G7 Summit speech on radio station 6PR, Mr McGowan said he saw the speech the Mr Morrison made and believes it was wrong to single out China over trade rules.

"Once again I don't understand it. Why would he be doing that?" Mr McGowan told 6PR's Gareth Parker.

READ MORE: China furious over US senators' visit to disputed island

"Countries act in their own interest. We are a country of 26 million people in the Asian region with very low population density but very very high success economically.

"A lot of our success is based upon trade and the fact we have a large trade surplus and in particular in Western Australia we have a massive trade surplus."

The premier said a beneficial relationship with China had a huge economic benefit not just for Australia, but for Western Australia.

READ MORE: 'They need us': Why China needs Australia's export lifeline

"We sell 60 per cent of our products to China. We buy a tiny proportion back from China. This generates hundreds of thousands of jobs for West Australians and we are the beneficiaries of this," Mr McGowan said.

"I don't understand why we would say the system isn't working for us when we are in that position.

"I wouldn't be attacking one country with concerns to that. We are the beneficiaries to the tune of $100 billion in Western Australian of a strong trading relationship with China."

READ MORE: China reports human case of H10N3 bird flu, a possible first

PM sounds warning ahead of G7 summit

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has called on world leaders to demonstrate that "liberal democracies work" in a speech ahead of the G7 summit.

Mr Morrison will travel to the summit in the United Kingdom tomorrow but used a keynote speech today to call for the international community to counter economic coercion.

"There is a lot at stake, for Australia, for our region, and indeed for the world," he said at the Perth USAsia Centre.

READ MORE: China accuses Australia and New Zealand of 'gross interference'

"We are living in a time of great uncertainty not seen, I believe, since the 1930s, outside of wartime."

He warned Australia's security environment had changed "significantly" in recent years.

"Accelerating trends are working against our interests," he said.

"The Indo-Pacific region, our region, is the epicentre of a new strategic competition.

"The risk of miscalculation and conflict are very present and growing."

Although he steered clear of direct references to China's actions in the South China Sea, Mr Morrison noted US President Joe Biden's strategic focus on the region.

On China specifically, Mr Morrison only said that all nations should participate in the global system.