According to China's official news agency Xinhua, Shanghai municipal state security authorities confirmed on Thursday, June 8, that four staff members of the Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto Ltd have been detained on charges of stealing Chinese state secrets.
As per report, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman, Qin Gang, confirmed the detained staff were employees of Rio Tinto's Shanghai office and included an Australian citizen of Chinese origin, Stern Hu, general manager of the company's Shanghai office, who was also in charge of the company's iron ore business in China.
On Wednesday, June 7, Australian foreign minister Stephen Smith said that Mr. Hu was detained in Shanghai on Sunday on allegations of espionage and stealing state secrets for foreign countries.
The other three detainees, who also worked in the Shanghai office and were reportedly detained on the same charges, are holders of Chinese passports.
Speaking at a regular press conference on Thursday, Mr. Qin said, "The case is under investigation, and the related parties will hopefully cooperate positively. Espionage and the theft of state secrets by the four Rio Tinto employees seriously harmed China's economic interests and security."
"China will handle the case properly according to law. This is an individual case and should not be exaggerated or even politicized," Qin added.
"We will continue to hold a positive attitude on economic and trade cooperation between China and Australia, including cooperation between enterprises from the two countries, which will not only benefit China, but also be good to Australia," he said.
Xinhua further reported that Rio Tinto spokesperson Ian Head stated to the agency on Thursday, "We have been advised by the Australian government of this surprising allegation. We are not aware of any evidence that would support such an investigation. Rio Tinto will continue to work to support its employees and their families."
"Rio Tinto intended to cooperate fully with any investigation the Chinese authorities may wish to undertake and has sought clarification on what has occurred," Mr. Head added.
Rio Tinto and China are still in talks over iron ore contract prices. The negotiations passed the June 30 deadline as Rio Tinto stuck to its offer of a 33 percent price cut for 2009-2010 contracts, while China insisted on a deeper cut.
Mining giant Rio Tinto has representative offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou on the Chinese mainland.