Good bilateral relations are in the interests of both Australia and China and the people of the two countries, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu at a press conference on Thursday.

But good relations also needed positive effort from both sides, she said.

She said she hoped the two countries could work together, "abide by correct directions in bilateral relations", respect and consider each other's interests and concerns, deal with sensitive issues properly, and maintain cooperation and friendship between the two countries.

The Chinese government dealt with illegal cases according to law in order to maintain a good business environment, which would benefit the long-term interests of foreign companies in China, she said.

On the Rio Tinto case, Jiang said Chinese judicial authorities would deal with the case according to Chinese law and diplomatic agreements between China and Australia.

In July four staff of Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto Ltd were detained on charges of stealing China's state secrets.

The four detainees included Stern Hu, general manager of Rio Tinto's Shanghai office in charge of its iron ore business in China.

(Xinhua News Agency September 4, 2009)