The Case of Rio Tinto

(Thumbnail image from Xinhua)

Arrested, but spying charges dropped. Some media sources say Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto has harmed China’s economy, but others point to politics.

China Daily presents the perspective of how Rio Tinto’s actions have hurt China’s economy.

“Rio Tinto's spying has forced Chinese steel companies to pay 700 billion yuan (US$102 billion) more for imported iron ore than they would have over the past six years.” (China Daily)

CNN speaks with a business reporter who says politics could be a factor in this case. It says the arrests came a month after Rio Tinto broke off a more than $19 billion investment deal with China state-owned Chinalco.

“Leaking state secrets in China could be almost anything. In fact it’s a charge often used in political cases when they just want to get somebody.” (CNN)

A writer for The New York Times presents another perspective, which says China is looking at the bigger picture.

“In deciding not to pursue state secret charges, Beijing appeared to bow to international pressure after Australian officials complained about a lack of transparency in the case and global investors worried that there could be new risks in doing business in China.” (The New York Times)

A reporter on CNBC says the effects of this case are far-reaching, not just for Australia, but for anyone else who deals with this sector: which is an important one for China.

“It almost appears as though China has shuffled the deck cards on all of these iron ore companies and how they should deal with China in future.” (CNBC)

So what do you think? Will this affect international relations between China and Australia? How will this affect China’s relations with the rest of the world?