Yao Jian, spokesman of China's Ministry of Commerce?at a press briefing Wednesday.

The detention of employees of Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto on spying charges is an individual case and will not hurt Sino-Australian trade, said Yao Jian, spokesman of China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC), at a press briefing Wednesday.

It would also not affect China's foreign trade and foreign investment as China had been improving its legal system, said Yao.

He said the two countries were important trade partners and had sound cooperation in raw materials, agriculture and free trade talks.

China had been improving its foreign investment environment, said Yao.

He said China would further lower the threshold of foreign investment and improve industrial and regional policies to attract overseas investment.

Data from the MOC Wednesday showed China's foreign direct investment (FDI) dropped by 17.9 percent to 43 billion U.S. dollars in the first half year on year.

(Xinhua News Agency July 16, 2009)