The anger turned to outrage in early July, with the arrest of Stern Hu, Rio's head of iron-ore marketing in China, and colleagues.

ECONOMIST: Behind China��s accusations of spying against Rio Tinto

Scepticism towards China in Australia hardened in July after the detention of Stern Hu, an Australian who heads Rio's iron-ore operations in China, and three colleagues.

ECONOMIST: Not quite a love-in, but too important for a dust-up

Many in Australia's business community are nervous, in some cases cancelling plans to travel to China following the arrest of Stern Hu, a Rio Tinto executive.

WSJ: The Rio Tinto Lesson

Scepticism towards China in Australia hardened on July 5th after the detention of Stern Hu, an Australian who heads Rio's iron ore operations in China, and two Chinese colleagues.

ECONOMIST: Australia and China

Tensions also flared in June, when Australian mining giant Rio Tinto rejected a potential deal with Chinalco, and in July when Chinese authorities arrested an Australian citizen and Rio Tinto employee, Stern Hu, on charges of bribe-taking.

WSJ: Dalai Down Under