Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith says he will raise Australia's concerns about the case of Rio Tinto executive, Stern Hu, when he next meets his Chinese counterpart.
Mr Smith says China needs to clarify why Hu was convicted of industrial espionage.
The Shanghai Intermediate People's Court sentenced the global mining giant's Australian-Chinese executive to seven years in prison on charges of accepting bribes, and five years on charges of stealing commercial secrets, on Monday.
Hu, who headed Rio Tinto's iron ore operations in China, will serve 10 years.
Hu pleaded guilty to accepting bribes but disputed the amount of 6.46 million yuan ($US946,300) alleged by prosecutors.
Three other Rio Tinto executives were also sentenced to between seven and 14 years in prison on bribery and secrets charges.
Hu and Chinese colleagues Liu Caikui, Ge Minqiang and Wang Yong were arrested and detained in Shanghai last July during contentious iron-ore contract talks between top mining companies and the steel industry in China. The talks collapsed.
