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Rio Tinto arrests an 'isolated' case: official

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-08-12 11:14

The Rio Tinto case will not and should not hurt trade and economic ties between China and Australia, Vice Minister of Commerce Fu Ziying said Wednesday.

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He was speaking after China's Supreme People's Procuratorate on Tuesday announced the arrest of four employees of the Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto on charges of stealing commercial secrets and bribery.

The four were Stern Hu, an Australian citizen of Chinese origin, and three Chinese -- Liu Caikui, Ge Minqiang and Wang Yong -- who all worked in the company's Shanghai office when they were detained on July 5.

"This is an isolated judicial case," Fu said at a press conference.

China was ruled by law and the judicial decision in the case would undoubtedly be fair, said Fu.