China Daily quoted China's foreign ministry as saying that the trial of Rio Tinto executives next week involving Australian passport holder Mr Stern Hu and 3 other Chinese employees, should not be deliberately politicized.
Mr Qin Gang spokesman of foreign ministry said that "It is just an individual business case. It should not be politicized or bring a negative impact on Australia and China relations."
Mr Qin also stressed that there shouldn't be all kinds of voices coming out before the trial to disturb the judicial system.
Mr Stern Hu and the 3 other Chinese employees of mining giant Rio Tinto, Mr Liu Caikui, Mr Ge Minqiang and Mr Wang Yong are charged with stealing commercial secrets and taking bribes. They will be tried in the No.1 Intermediate People's Court in Shanghai on Monday morning. The trial is scheduled to last three days.
According to Chinese law, Australia has sought more transparency regarding the case, but court proceedings related to commercial secrets are a closed affair.
Mr Kevin Rudd PM of Australia and consular officials in China has expressed concern about the case. The world will be watching the case. Meanwhile, Mr Tom Albanese CEO of Rio Tinto will likely miss the trial's opening as he is scheduled to participate at the China Development Forum in Beijing the same day, which will also be attended by senior Chinese officials.
Mr Hu and the others were arrested nine months ago at a time when the Anglo Australian mining giant was acting as the lead negotiator for global iron ore suppliers in price talks with Chinese steel mills. Mr Hu was Rio's senior executive in China in charge of iron ore.
4 lawyers from three different Shanghai based law firms will be defending the Rio employees in court next week. Mr Hu's lawyer, Mr Duan Qihua is the managing partner and co founder of Duan and Duan Law Firm, with overseas branches in the US and is known to represent top foreign companies in China.
The report said that Mr Stern Hu and his colleagues face 7 years for stealing commercial secrets and 20 years for accepting bribes, but the cap for fixed term imprisonment is 20 years in China. Rio Tinto's China branch will likely be punished too.
Mr Zhang Malin a lawyer from the law department of the Southeast University in Nanjing said that "If the investigation finds that the company paid for travel and bribery expenses for their actions, it could indicate that the company may be involved in the crime as well."
(Sourced from China Daily)
