The coalition and opposition are riding on a unity ticket when it comes to demonstrating the strength of Australia's relationships in the Pacific.
Labor foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong recently returned from a trip through the Pacific alongside foreign minister Julie Bishop, but decried the $11 billion cuts to aid made during the Liberal's tenure.
"We have a unity ticket, as have successive governments and oppositions of both political persuasions, on the importance of the Pacific to Australia," Senator Wong told the ABC on Sunday.
The visit came amid concerns from some in politics and the media about Chinese influence in the Pacific.
Australia recently inked a deal with the Solomon Islands to fund an undersea cable originally planned to be built by Chinese telco giant Huawei.
But Senator Wong said Chinese investment was often misunderstood.
"(China) doesn't have the same separation between government and the economy, government and the community, that we assume," she said.
"So sometimes questions about company structure or indeed company financing... from Australian journalists misunderstand or make assumptions."
Senator Wong also waded into talk of a trade war stoush following the US announcement of a 25 per cent tariff on billions of dollars of Chinese goods.
"It's a bad thing, a very negative development," she said.
"It strikes at the integrity of the world trading system which has served the world well, which has ensured disputes are managed and contained."
Conflict in the trading relationship also risked instability in the broader bilateral relationship.
Senator Wong's anticipated visit to China, along with Labor defence spokesman Richard Marles, is still in the early planning stages.
Australian Associated Press