Pressure on Rio Tinto as espionage claims intensify in China

China arrested four Rio employees, including the company’s chief iron ore negotiator, two months ago and charged them with espionage.

Few official details have been released, but reports by state media have suggested that executives at Chinese steel mills, the primary buyers of iron ore, gave Rio information that strengthened the miner’s position in price negotiations.

Rio denies the allegations and is seeking the release of its employees.

The latest report claims that Rio’s alleged spying over a period of six years cost China $102 billion in overpayments to the company.

Although the report was posted on a website linked to the National Secrets Protection Bureau, it is not clear whether it accurately reflects the Chinese Government’s position. More