Aug. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Australia will soon be making arrangements for a second consular visit with Rio Tinto Group executive Stern Hu, detained in China for allegedly stealing state secrets, a government spokeswoman said.

“According to the consular agreement, visits must take place at least once per month,” a spokeswoman for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, who asked not to be named, said today in an e-mailed statement. “The Consulate-General in Shanghai will shortly be making arrangements for the second visit.”

Australian citizen Hu was last visited on July 10, five days after he was detained in Shanghai with three other Rio executives for what China has described as actions harmful to the nation’s economic interests and security. Australia, which said the detentions were connected to annual price talks for iron ore, is seeking more information and has urged China to deal with the case expeditiously.

China, the world’s biggest buyer of iron ore, is Australia’s second-biggest trading partner, with two-way trade valued at A$68 billion ($57 billion) in 2008, and is its largest source of foreign investment. Hu took actions that would also be criminal under Australian law, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. cited a Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Liu Jieyu as saying Aug. 2.

To contact the reporters on this story: Gemma Daley in Canberra at gdaley@bloomberg.netJesse Riseborough in Melbourne at jriseborough@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: August 6, 2009 02:27 EDT