(Corrects initials of Belgian station to VRT in second and fifth paragraphs)

BEIJING, Dec 4 (Reuters) - China is investigating a Belgian reporter's complaint he was attacked and robbed after interviewing AIDS-infected villagers in Henan province, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Thursday.

A crew from Belgian TV station VRT were forced out of their car at night in Shangqiu county, their equipment damaged and their tapes, cellphones and some money stolen, according to reporter Tom Van de Weghe's complaint.

Van de Weghe, who says he was hit on the head, said local officials and other residents were behind the attack.

"The relevant investigation is ongoing. We hope a result can come as quickly as possible," ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told reporters.

"We will keep in contact with the VRT reporter and his news organisation. We hope we can get to the bottom of this matter and the two parties can resolve it properly."

China's state-owned Xinhua news agency on Wednesday denied any violence had been used, citing an initial investigation by Henan provincial authorities.

Xinhua cited Henan provincial spokesman Wang Yuejin as saying that AIDS sufferers upset at being interviewed were trying to get the film back, and that local official Dong Hongliang, who Van de Weghe had identified as leading the attack, had been trying to help them.

The provincial investigation team and Xinhua both failed to reach Van de Weghe by telephone, Xinhua said, while Van de Weghe said neither had rung his office in Beijing.

"I am quite surprised at the Xinhua report. These were completely false, fabricated stories that were not true," Van de Weghe said.

Henan was the epicentre for AIDS infections stemming from blood selling schemes and untested blood transfusions in the 1990s.

(Reporting by Lucy Hornby, Editing by Nick Macfie)

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