US expresses concern over secret trial of GSK investigators in China

The United States has expressed concern after its officials were barred from the Chinese trial of two investigators for British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline who are accused of illegally buying and selling private information.

The arrest last year of American Yu Yingzeng and her British husband Peter Humphrey coincided with Chinese accusations that GSK bribed doctors and officials to use its medications. They face trial on August 7.

The US concerns, voiced by its embassy in Beijing, adds a political dimension to the trial, which could become another thorny issue between the two powers.

"We are concerned that consular officers will not be allowed to attend Ms Yu's trial, despite the fact that under the 1982 bilateral consular convention between our two countries consular officials are permitted to attend such trials," US embassy spokesman Nolan Barkhouse said.

The British embassy said it was "engaging" Chinese authorities about the need for a transparent and fair trial.

The trial is part of a tangled web of investigations into GSK, which Chinese police accuse of funnelling up to 3 billion yuan through travel agencies to bribe doctors and officials.