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| China arrests Rio Tinto workers | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| China has formally arrested four employees of mining firm Rio Tinto on suspicion of stealing trade secrets and taking bribes, Chinese media report. | |
| 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. |
| 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. Rio Tinto denies any wrongdoing. |
| Australia has urged China to allow Mr Hu - Rio's head of iron ore operations in China - to have access to a lawyer. | Australia has urged China to allow Mr Hu - Rio's head of iron ore operations in China - to have access to a lawyer. |
| "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. | "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. |
| The four employees - Mr Hu and his Chinese colleagues Liu Caikui, Ge Minqiang and Wang Yong - face allegations of using "improper means" to obtain "commercial secrets" about China's steel and iron industry, said Chinese official news agency Xinhua. | |
| However, there was no mention of stealing state secrets, which earlier reports in China had said the four would be accused of, and which carry tougher sentences. | |
| Retaliation theory | Retaliation theory |
| Last month, the Australian trade minister, Simon Crean, warned that business relations with China could be damaged if the case of the detained Rio Tinto workers was not handled appropriately. | Last month, the Australian trade minister, Simon Crean, warned that business relations with China could be damaged if the case of the detained Rio Tinto workers was not handled appropriately. |
| Australian opposition politicians had complained that the arrests might be in retaliation for the collapse in June of Rio's proposed deal with Chinese state-owned firm Chinalco. | Australian opposition politicians had complained that the arrests might be in retaliation for the collapse in June of Rio's proposed deal with Chinese state-owned firm Chinalco. |
| Rio scrapped a $19.5bn (£11.8bn) investment by Chinalco in favour of a tie-up with fellow Anglo-Australian miner BHP Billiton. Rio Tinto is now finalising a deal with BHP to merge their iron ore operations in Western Australia. | Rio scrapped a $19.5bn (£11.8bn) investment by Chinalco in favour of a tie-up with fellow Anglo-Australian miner BHP Billiton. Rio Tinto is now finalising a deal with BHP to merge their iron ore operations in Western Australia. |
| However, Mr Crean did not believe that the two incidents were related. | However, Mr Crean did not believe that the two incidents were related. |
| China is Australia's biggest trade partner, worth $53bn in 2008. Of this, $14bn came from iron ore exports, powered by Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton. | China is Australia's biggest trade partner, worth $53bn in 2008. Of this, $14bn came from iron ore exports, powered by Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton. |