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China charges Rio Tinto workers China charges Rio Tinto workers
(about 5 hours later)
China has formally arrested and charged four employees of mining firm Rio Tinto with stealing trade secrets and taking bribes, Chinese state media reports.China has formally arrested and charged four employees of mining firm Rio Tinto with stealing trade secrets and taking bribes, Chinese state media reports.
The accused are Australian national Stern Hu and three Chinese employees of the Anglo-Australian company.The accused are Australian national Stern Hu and three Chinese employees of the Anglo-Australian company.
They are charged with using "improper means" to obtain "commercial secrets" about China's steel and iron industry, Xinhua reports. The four have been in police custody in Shanghai since early July. Rio Tinto denies any wrongdoing.
The four have been in police custody in Shanghai since early July. Australia has urged China to allow Mr Hu - Rio's head of iron ore operations in China - to have access to a lawyer.
Rio Tinto denies any wrongdoing. "We encourage China to allow Mr Hu all the protections available under Chinese law, including access to legal representation, now that he has been formally arrested," a statement from the foreign affairs department said.
Australia has repeatedly sought a quick resolution of the case, but China has told Canberra not to interfere in the legal process. The four employees are charged with using "improper means" to obtain "commercial secrets" about China's steel and iron industry, said Chinese official news agency Xinhua.
China's State Secrets Bureau on Monday accused Rio Tinto of spying on Chinese steel mills for six years and helping to inflate iron ore prices.China's State Secrets Bureau on Monday accused Rio Tinto of spying on Chinese steel mills for six years and helping to inflate iron ore prices.
It said Chinese steelmakers had lost 700bn yuan ($102bn; £61.2bn) through overpaying for imported iron ore.It said Chinese steelmakers had lost 700bn yuan ($102bn; £61.2bn) through overpaying for imported iron ore.