China has extended by two months a commercial espionage investigation into Rio Tinto executive Stern Hu, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said today, in comments that suggest no early resolution to a case that has strained ties.
Mr Hu, an Australian, was formally arrested in August along with three Chinese executives from the Anglo-Australian miner.
"The Chinese authorities, in accordance with Chinese law, have extended the investigation period for a further two months so that will take the investigation period, as I understand it, to mid-January," Mr Smith told reporters on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific meeting in Singapore. Read more.
Mr Hu, an Australian, was formally arrested in August along with three Chinese executives from the Anglo-Australian miner.
"The Chinese authorities, in accordance with Chinese law, have extended the investigation period for a further two months so that will take the investigation period, as I understand it, to mid-January," Mr Smith told reporters on the sidelines of an Asia-Pacific meeting in Singapore. Read more.