Govt warns Australian tourists of drug crackdown in China

The Australian government has updated its travel advice for tourists heading to China in the wake of a crackdown on drug-related offences.

A government source told News Ltd newspapers that an unspecified number of Australians had been arrested for drug offences in China since late last year when the crackdown began.

They had been charged, but had not yet been through the full judicial process.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) on Thursday altered its travel advice to China to specifically warn of the dangers of drug possession and trafficking in China and the potential for the death penalty to be imposed for the most serious offences.

The government spokesman said all of the arrested Australians had been offered consular assistance and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop had been briefed.

The ABC's foreign correspondent in Beijing, Stephen McDonell, filed a report last month saying he had been caught up in a drug raid while having a drink recently at a popular city bar.

He noted the Chinese capital was in the midst of a major crackdown on illegal drug use.

On that night, police took down everyone's passport or ID number, and then insisted on on-the-spot urine tests.

Such is the breadth of the latest law enforcement, well-known singers and actors in China have reportedly been arrested for using drugs. According to Chinese media reports, the son of movie star Jackie Chan was detained in Beijing last month on drug related charges. Jaycee Chan, 32, is tested positive for marijuana use.

And random urine tests on the general public have led to detentions and to foreigners being expelled from the country.

DFAT said Chinese police had picked up a number of foreigners this year attempting to traffic drugs out of the airports in Guangzhou and Hong Kong.

The overall travel alert level for China remains at the lowest level "exercise normal safety precautions".

But the department is concerned that Australians - 300,000 of whom visit China each year - are not receiving the warning that there are severe penalties in place for the use, possession and trafficking of drugs.