Traveling from Perth Australia to China 144 hour visa

If your flight itinerary is Australia - Guangzhou - Shanghai - USA, you are not eligible for 144-hour visa free. The layover in Guangzhou affect the 144 hour visa free transit in Shanghai. According to the policy, 144-hour visa free is applied to the passengers traveling from one country/region to another country/region visa one of the permitted areas in China. Shanghai and Guangzhou do not belong to one area. However, if you only transit in Shanghai, you can apply for 144-hour visa free.

I will be traveling from Perth Australia to Kuala Lumpur Malaysia for one hour layover then on to Shanghai China. Will that qualify to get a 144 hour free transit ?

The itinerary of Australia - Malaysia - Shanghai is also not eligible for 144-hour visa free. The qualified itinerary is Malaysia - Shanghai - another country/region other than Malaysia.