China's central government has yet to give its approval for Aluminum Corp. of China's proposed $19.5 billion deal with Rio Tinto Ltd. (RTP), Chinalco Deputy General Manager Lu Youqing said Thursday.

"At this time, not yet," Lu said, when asked if the deal had the support of the government.

Lu said he didn't know when the government will make a decision.

Earlier Thursday, Lu confirmed Rio Tinto is in the process of finalizing the deal with Chinalco.

The deal would require approval from the Chinese regulators.

-By Chuin-Wei Yap, Dow Jones Newswires; 8610 6588 5848; chuin-wei.yap@dowjones.com