Rio Tinto staff accused of spying by China

8th Jul 2009 08:13

Four Shanghai-based employees of Rio Tinto have been detained by China on spying charges, a move that threatens to spark a diplomatic row with Australia.The Australian government has called for urgent talks with the Chinese after it confirmed that Stern Hu, Rio Tinto's iron ore marketing chief in China, had been arrested on suspicion of espionage and stealing state secrets. Hu, an Australian citizen, and the three others detained are part of Rio's iron ore sales team.Rio said it was "concerned about the employees' well-being and is doing everything possible to help them and support their families".Relations between Rio Tinto and China have deteriorated badly following the miner's decision to scrap a fund raising deal with Chinese state aluminium firm Chinalco and instead merge its iron ore business with rival BHP Billiton.Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Stephen Smith said there was no evidence of a link between Hu's arrest and any commercial matters concerning Rio.Rio added it "intends to co-operate fully with any investigation the Chinese authorities may wish to undertake and has sought clarification on what has occurred".