China extends Rio Tinto probe by two months
Posted: 12 November 2009 1141 hrs

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SYDNEY: China has extended a probe into detained Rio Tinto mining executive Stern Hu by two months, Australian officials said on Thursday.

"We were informed during the consular visit on November 9 that the Chinese authorities had extended the investigation by another two months," a foreign office spokesman told AFP.

"This is in addition to the earlier one-month extension already approved by the Chinese authorities," he added.

Details of the alleged industrial espionage and bribery case against Australian passport-holder Hu remained unknown, the spokesman said.

Hu, Rio Tinto's lead negotiator in fraught iron ore talks with China's steel mills, he was detained along with three of his colleagues in Shanghai in July.

He originally faced more serious allegations of stealing state secrets, but Beijing later downgraded the accusations.

Rio Tinto suspended its iron ore negotiations with China after the arrests as diplomatic tensions soared between Canberra and Beijing.

Australian officials have said full details of the industrial espionage allegations were not likely to be known until Hu is brought to trial.

He was arrested just weeks after Rio snubbed a 19.5 billion US dollar cash injection from state-run Chinalco, which would have been China's largest-ever foreign investment.


- AFP/so