Daily News Channel
China has "conclusive evidence" that four employees of the world’s second-largest mining company were stealing Chinese state secrets, the country’s foreign ministry said. Four employees of Rio Tinto — one Australian and three Chinese — have been arrested on suspicion of espionage and stealing state secrets. Australian Stern Hu is the general manager of Rio Tinto’s Shanghai office, where all the employees work.
A deal between mining giant Rio Tinto and Chinalco, a state-owned Chinese aluminum company, was called off after it became a hot-button issue in Australian politics. Meanwhile, Rio Tinto announced it has signed a non-binding agreement with BHP Billiton for iron ore production in Western Australia.
China, flexing some of its might as a growing economic power, has suggested overhauling the global monetary system by boosting the use of an alternative to the U.S. dollar. As the largest holder of U.S
The World Bank cut China’s economic growth forecast in 2009 to 6.5 percent Wednesday, down a full percentage point from November’s projection. Despite the downgrade, “China is a relative bright spot in an otherwise gloomy global economy,” said the World Bank’s David Dollar.
Slumping consumer demand pushed China’s consumer and producer price indices into negative territory in February, state-run media reported Tuesday.