Australia’s ambassador to the United States says Australia is missing a golden opportunity by focussing on China rather than the US.

Ambassador Kim Beazley has said Australia’s attention to bilateral investment in China is valid, but we could be missing the opportunity to be the gatekeepers to Asia for the United States.

"Our story into Asia is increasingly an American story into Asia," Mr Beazley said, pointing to Chevron, Apache, ConocoPhillips and Boeing as examples of companies who have set up in Australia to access Asian markets.

He also says our economic bond with the US is much larger than people realise; “We have about $16 billion worth of Chinese investment in Australia,” Beazley said, “There is a lot of chatter in Australia about Chinese investment. There isn't any. There is $630 billion worth of American investment in Australia, and that is increasing exponentially... there's about $7 billion or $8 billion worth of Australian investment in China. That's nothing at all. There is $430 billion worth of Australian investment in the US.”

The Ambassador says the perception of Australia under its last two leaders has been strong in the US; "Both Kevin and Julia are immensely respected here, for different reasons," Mr Beazley said. "Kevin's expertise on China is influential in this town. He was the only Australian backbencher I know whose speeches and correspondence were read at the most senior levels of the administration."