The ripples are still spreading around the region from the sealing of a new push by the Chinese -government to tell its own story -directly through Australia's English-language media - using Australia as a potential pilot for forays in other countries' media too.
Even The Straits Times - widely viewed as a vehicle for the Singapore government, with its holding company's previous chairman, Tony Tan, now the nation's president - a few days ago headlined a story "China's deals with Aussie media 'a propaganda coup' ". 
The propaganda chief of China's ruling communist party, Liu Qibao, flew to Sydney last month to bear witness to six deals being signed between Chinese and Australian media.
As one of China's most powerful politicians, Mr Liu's visit was noteworthy. At the side of deputy foreign affairs secretary Gary Quinlan, Mr Liu welcomed agreements with Fairfax Media, Sky News and the Australia-China Relations Institute headed by -former foreign minister Bob Carr at the University of Technology, Sydney.
The Straits Times story cited views that "Australian media outlets are struggling financially and their independence is under threat".
Michael Danby, the Labor MP for Melbourne Ports and human rights advocate, told The Australian he believed Fairfax's inclusion within its -papers of "an English-language propaganda paper like China Daily" - as well as the -involvement of "Beijing mouthpiece" ACRI - was "a shameful act of ideological appeasement to the world's largest authoritarian regime".
Mr Liu, one of 25 members of the Politburo, has said that "to sculpture a good image of the country, serving the strategic -policy of both party and country, telling a good China story, -creating a favourable international opinion environment, is a strategically -important task".
China is pouring about $10 billion a year into projecting "soft power" to complement the "hard power" won by economic muscle and growing military strength.
At home, Mr Liu's prime task is as chief censor - transforming China's internet into an intranet to which the party-state controls access. All mass and social media in China are ultimately in the hands of the government, which through Mr Liu's department -issues a daily list of forbidden topics. China has 49 journalists under arrest following the recent tightening of controls. Abroad, the -priority is to ensure the way Beijing seeks to tell its own story prevails over alternative narratives.
Already in Australia, most China news in Chinese-language media comes from state sources. Now a concerted push has begun, to replicate that in Australia's -English-language media.
Only the ABC, Fairfax - including The Australian Financial Review - and The Australian have staff journalists in China. No online organisation or commercial broadcaster employs a journalist there. Reporters based in Australia can only obtain journalist visas to cover events or issues in China, if supported by a Chinese government or party agency.
Chinese media are thus becoming increasingly successful, as interest in China grows, in supplying their own material directly - whether for free radio or TV broadcast, or printed for a fee, as through the Fairfax inserts.
A Fairfax spokesman said the commercial printing agreement with China Daily "relates to an eight-page liftout called China Watch, which is pre-printed and inserted in The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Australian Financial Review, each month, at our discretion. "The liftout is clearly labelled and is not dissimilar in nature to other agreements we have entered with other -clients," he said.
It bears a disclaimer that Fairfax staff have not prepared the content, but does not describe the content as advertising, although the spokesman said: "It is dealt with no differently to other advertising content. Fairfax has a clear demarcation between paid content and content created by our journalists." Fairfax seconded staff to help the Chinese government develop China Daily 35 years ago. China has also secured deals to distribute China Daily content -inside other newspapers, including TheWashington Post and -London's The Daily Telegraph.
China's news agency Xinhua said that through its new deal with ACRI, "myths will be dispelled".
An ACRI spokesman said: "ACRI is running fact-finding tours of China for Australian journalists and opinion leaders and needs Chinese partners to facilitate meetings. We have a particular focus on business and economics. We think Xinhua can provide us assistance unlikely to be matched by any other organisation." Sky News Australia chief executive Angelos Frangopoulos said "we have had a relationship with the State Council Information Office for many years, and with the Shanghai Media Group. This latest memorandum is also about relationship building." The new deal is with the website of party flagship People's Daily, involving "goodwill and content exchange, with a focus around business, trade and real estate - providing an opportunity for that content to reach a broader audience". Sky News has previously made similar arrangements with China Central TV, Mr Frangopoulos said: "Our journalists meet theirs, we gain access to studios and so on." Peter Cai, a research fellow at the Lowy Institute, said: "I believe Australian readers have a strong enough immune system to withstand the Chinese government's lies and half-truths" - while stressing concern about the co-option of overseas Chinese--language media, and social media platforms like WeChat and Weibo."This means," he said, "the party can extend its censorship tentacles into Australia without the need to own any publications."