Australian authorities are seeking urgent consular access to a Rio Tinto executive who has been detained in Shanghai.
The Federal Government says it is making every effort to find out why an Australian employee of Rio Tinto has been detained by Chinese authorities.
It is understood Australian passport holder Stern Hu is one of four Rio Tinto executives who have been detained in Shanghai since Sunday.
Government minister Greg Combet said he did not know the reason for the man's arrest.
"The government of course is making every effort at the moment to do that through the appropriate mechanisms, through the embassy in China and the consulate in Shanghai,'' Mr Combet told reporters at Parliament House.
Mr Combet, the minister for Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science, confirmed that it appeared that one Australian citizen and three others had been detained in China.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was seeking "urgent consular access'' to the detained Australian.
The DFAT said Australian authorities were "not yet able to comment on the reason for his detention.''
"Consular staff of the Shanghai Consulate-General and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra are in communication with the man's family and his employer,'' DFAT said.
Rio Tinto, the world's third largest mining company, confirmed a total of four company employees from its Shanghai office had been detained for questioning by Chinese authorities.
"The reasons for these actions are unclear,'' Rio Tinto said.
"We intend to co-operate fully with any investigation the Chinese authorities may wish to undertake and have sought clarification on what has occurred.
"We are concerned about our people's wellbeing and are doing everything we can to help them and support their families.''
It is understood Australian passport holder Stern Hu is one of the four executives, who are thought to have been detained since Sunday.
The other Rio Tinto employees detained are believed to be Chinese passport holders.
AAP
