Australian prime minister raises Rio case with China

Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd said he raised with Chinese premier Wen Jiabao the issue of an Australian executive of mining giant Rio Tinto currently held on suspicion of corporate espionage.
                                           
"In the disccusion I had with premier Wen I indicated we had continuing consular matters which need to be resolved between our foreign ministries and this included representatives of the Australian company Rio Tinto," Rudd told reporters after a meeting with Wen during a leaders' summit in Thailand.
                                           
Asked about how quickly the case might be resolved, Rudd said: "It is under continued and close discussion between the two foreign ministries. We confirmed that process was ongoing."