SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia s domestic spy chief has warned that universities need to be  very conscious  of foreign interference in an apparent reference to China s perceived undercover influence on campuses. Australian Security Intelligence Organisation director-general Duncan Lewis told politicians in Canberra late on Tuesday that espionage and foreign interference were an  insidious threat . Lewis said foreign powers were  clandestinely seeking to shape  the opinion of the Australian public, media organizations and government officials  in order to advance their countries  own political objectives .  Lewis did not specifically name China in his late night testimony to a parliamentary inquiry, but when questioned about China s involvement, he said he  strongly identified  with comments made by a senior government official this month that universities should protect themselves from Chinese influence. Asked last week about the Communist Party s overseas activities in places like Australia, a senior official said Chinese people living overseas had to respect the laws of the countries in which they lived. China is Australia s largest trading partner, with business spurred by a wide-ranging China-Australia Free Trade Agreement signed in 2015.  Relations between Australia and China have been tested in recent months after the United States, Japan and Australia voiced concerns over Beijing s unilateral actions in the disputed South China Sea, including continued artificial land building. 
Australia campuses warned of 'clandestine' influence in apparent poke at China