Australian media reports on Chinese interference in Australia are racist and paranoid, China's top newspaper said Monday, stepping up a war of words over concerns in Australia about Chinese influence in the country.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said last week he took reports very seriously that China's Communist Party had sought to interfere in his country.

Turnbull said that foreign powers were making "unprecedented and increasingly sophisticated attempts to influence the political process" in Australia and the world. He cited "disturbing reports about Chinese influence."