Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has rejected accusations from Beijing that his country is “plagued by systemic racism and hate crimes” after an Australian diplomat led a group of Western nations in renewing concerns about human rights violations in China.

A spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry has left a scathing criticism for Australia after an ambassador to the UN read a joint statement on behalf of 15 nations.

Sky News host James Macpherson says China is accusing Australia of “systemic racism” following a diplomat’s concerns of human rights abuses.

China has accused Australia of being "plagued by systemic racism and hate crimes" in retaliation to concerns raised about human rights abuses in Xinjiang and Tibet. Australia's Ambassador to the United Nations James Larsen shared a joint statement with 14 other countries this week to urge China to uphold its international human rights obligations following findings of serious human rights violations.