Foreign Minister Stephen Smith told his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, that Australia was opposed to the referendum.

'We are very concerned to ensure that action is not taken in Taiwan or in the Taiwanese Strait which would cause concern or potential for disharmony in the strait itself,' Mr Smith said at a joint news conference with Mr Yang during his visit to the Australian capital.

Mr Yang's visit to Australia is his first since he became foreign minister and the first by a high-ranking Chinese official since Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's Labour government won power in November.

'I've told Foreign Minister Yang that Australia regards very much as completely inappropriate the referendum,' Mr Smith said.

Taiwan recently announced it will hold a March 22 referendum on whether to pursue UN membership.

'It does not lead to stability nor harmony in North Asia and we would be much better off if that referendum had not been proposed,' Mr Smith said.

Beijing has denounced the referendum as a move toward formal independence for the self-ruled island that could threaten peace in the Asia-Pacific region.

Beijing regards Taiwan, which split from the mainland amid civil war in 1949, as part of its territory and has threatened to attack if it pursues formal independence.

Australia does not support Taiwanese independence. An Australian Labour Party government gave China diplomatic recognition in 1972.

Australia has a 57-year-old defense treaty with the United States and could potentially be dragged into a cross-strait conflict because Washington has promised to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself against a Chinese attack.

Last year, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice condemned Taiwan for raising tensions through the referendum, which she described as provocative.

Prime Minister Rudd, who opposed his predecessor John Howard's decision to support the US invasion of Iraq, has promised to pursue a foreign policy more independent of the United States. -- AP