China backtracks on new Rio claims
CHINESE officials yesterday distanced themselves from an earlier report claiming miner Rio Tinto had been engaged in “commercial espionage” against China’s steel mills for six years.
A website with links to China’s State Secrets Bureau had said at the weekend that Rio had been spying Chinese businesses as well as inflating iron ore prices which had cost the country 700bn yuan (£61.2bn).
The website said the case involved “corruption, information gathering and spying.” The government often uses state media to release information, but it is unclear whether this report is officially sanctioned.
China arrested four Rio Tinto workers last month, accusing them of spying, a claim which Rio denies.