Ananova:

An Australian executive with mining giant Rio Tinto has been detained in China as a suspected spy amid tense negotiations over iron ore exports.

Stern Hu was being held in Shanghai with three other executives from the Anglo-Australian company.

"Australian officials were advised that... he was being detained on the suspicion of espionage and stealing state secrets," Australia's Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said.

Mr Smith said there was no evidence of any link between Mr Hu's detention and commercial matters concerning Rio.

The firm is locked in talks with China over lucrative iron ore contracts.

A dispute arose after Rio refused to submit to Chinese demands for a bigger cut in prices.

A state-owned China company also recently failed in a massive $19.5bn (£12bn) investment bid in Rio.

Mr Smith said consular officials were seeking access to Mr Hu, a long-time Rio employee in the firm's iron ore sales team who is based in Shanghai.

The officials have been in contact with Mr Hu's wife, also an Australian citizen.

China's Foreign Ministry and Shanghai police made no immediate comment. A spokesman for China's embassy in Canberra, Australia, also declined to comment.

On June 5, Rio announced it had dumped plans for a $19.5bn investment from Chinalco and instead sealed an iron ore joint venture with rival BHP Billiton.

Several days later, China's official Xinhua news agency criticised Rio's "perfidy" for scrapping the deal.