First-half goals from Brett Holman and Mark Bresciano were enough to sink the Asian side, although the Socceroos found themselves under pressure during the second half.

Both teams are preparing for the AFC Asian Cup, which gets underway on July 7, and on this showing there is plenty of promise for Graham Arnold's men.

It was all the more impressive as Australia were without the likes of Tim Cahill, Craig Moore, Brett Emerton, John Aloisi and Harry Kewell, meaning Carl Valeri and Shane Stefanutto were handed first caps.

And they gave a good account of themselves as Australia soon found themselves ahead.

Bresciano broke from the left before racing down towards the penalty box where he fed the ball to Holman, who slotted beyond Li Leilei.

In the 27th minute things got worse for China as Australia added a second through Bresciano.

The Palermo man collected the ball in the China area and took his time before coolly firing home.

The hosts struggled to find a way through a solid Australian defence in the first half but came to life in the second half as captain and Charlton striker Zheng Zhi forced Mark Schwarzer into a rare save from a free-kick.

Schwarzer was on hand just after the hour mark to preserve his clean sheet when Zheng played a nice ball through for substitute Han Peng, whose shot was well saved by the Middlesbrough goalkeeper.

Australia will next tackle Uruguay on June 2 in Sydney before facing Argentina four days later in Melbourne.

China, meanwhile, will be looking for an improved performance when they play another friendly on Tuesday against Uzbekistan in Macau.