July 17 (Bloomberg) -- Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said China’s investigation into detained Rio Tinto Group executive Stern Hu had a “sharp focus” on 2009 iron-ore negotiations and that charges had not yet been laid.

China, the world’s largest buyer of iron ore, detained four Rio executives on July 5 and said their actions harmed the nation’s economic interests and security. Australia has sought more information on the case and has urged China to deal with it expeditiously.

“There is a very sharp focus on Hu’s role in iron-ore negotiations for 2009,” Smith told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio today following a meeting with China Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei yesterday in Egypt. Claims against 52-year-old Hu include “possible allegations of bribery or receiving unlawfully information from the Chinese side,” Smith said.

China yesterday said Australia was an “interference” with the nation’s legal sovereignty and that the “noise” over Hu would not change its handling of the case. Those comments came after Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Treasurer Wayne Swan told China the rest of the world was watching the case.

“I have also taken note that there is some noise on the case in Australia,” China Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters yesterday in Beijing. “This is an interference in the judicial sovereignty of China.”

Stronger Stand

Australia has strengthened its stance as the case strains relations between China and Rudd, a Mandarin-speaking former diplomat to Beijing. China is Australia’s second-biggest trading partner, with two-way trade worth A$68 billion ($55 billion) in 2008, and largest source of foreign investment.

“We are firmly against anyone stirring up the case and interfering in the independent judicial authority of China,” Qin said “This is not in the interests of Australia.”

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke yesterday called on China to provide more information about the Hu investigations and for greater transparency. He made the comments in a Bloomberg Television interview in Beijing.

To contact the reporter on this story: Gemma Daley in Canberra at gdaley@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: July 16, 2009 19:35 EDT