The deal, which would have given state-owned Aluminum Corp of China an 18 per cent stake in Rio Tinto, on top of some direct stakes in some mining assets, was politically fraught" and detrimental to other deals, said Ian McCubbin, head of the China practice at Deacons. 

"Now that the Chinalco proposal is no longer on the table each investment proposal from China can be judged on its particular merits," said McCubbin. 

The deal may have "delayed decisions on other proposals", he said in the Wall Street Journal. 

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McCubbin is currently overseas so was unavailable to speak to The New Lawyer before press today, but the China expert said Australian law firms are already seeing evidence of broader interest from China in sectors such as energy, infrastructure, and areas such as telecommunications, real estate and agribusiness. 

"The [Australian] Government will no doubt be pleased that the market relieved it of the responsibility of making a ruling [on the Chinalco deal]," said McCubbin, referring to the rise in Rio Tinto's stock price that made the Chinalco offer less attractive to Rio's shareholders.