Reuters has the latest on the investigation of Rio Tinto employees, including an Australian national, who are suspected of stealing state secrets:
Australia’s trade minister pressed China on Saturday for more details about the detention of a Rio Tinto executive, but said he did not expect the case to affect bilateral trade ties.
Stern Hu, an Australian national, and three Chinese employees of Rio Tinto’s iron ore department were detained last week, on what China said was suspicion of stealing state secrets.
Simon Crean told reporters he had expressed “strong concern” to the Shanghai city government regarding Hu, and that Australia hoped the issue would be dealt with quickly.
From Bloomberg:
See also “Rio Case May Damage Business ‘Certainty’ in China (Update1)” from Bloomberg.