China Daily believes that the Chinese government's probe into the Rio Tinto commercial espionage case may not have a major impact on business investments of foreign companies in China.



However, the newspaper states that the case renews questions about the boundaries of multinational companies' acceptable commercial behavior in China. Multinational companies that arrived in China in the early stages of its reform are now facing a new reality.



According to the newspaper, these companies currently face a stricter regulatory environment and the phasing out of preferential policies toward foreign investors.



China Daily quotes Jorg Wuttke, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China: "Multinationals have to deal with a different sophistication, not only with the government but also the media, customers, suppliers and the Internet. Stakeholders are getting more informed, more sophisticated and sometimes more aggressive. Multinationals have to change their tune."



It will be recalled that four Shanghai-based employees of Rio Tinto were arrested in early August for allegedly paying bribes to obtain information about Sino-Australian iron ore price talks.



China Daily quotes Wuttke: "Some foreign companies are a little worried about the wording on espionage and data information gathering. Many of us in business need a large amount of information that normally comes from publicly available sources to draw rather detailed conclusions after analysis. Some are now worried that if they find such information, the authorities will draw the conclusion they stole or purchased it somewhere."



However, Wuttke claims that the Rio Tinto case is "a selected singular case" that has no major impact on business investment decisions on China.



With a double-digit annual economic growth rate and a growing consumer market, China has become a strategic market for multinational companies. Despite the global crisis, Fan Gang, director of the China National Economic Research Institute, stated that China can still meet its GDP growth target of 8% this year and is expected to keep up the momentum next year as well.