After Australia's top leaders repeatedly said the treatment of detained Australian passport-holder Stern Hu could impact China's business reputation, Beijing signalled it would not tolerate any lectures.

"We are firmly against anyone stirring up the case and interfering with the independent judicial authority of China. This is not in the interest of Australia," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters.

And amid allegations publicised in China's government-controlled media of widespread bribery and corruption linked to Rio Tinto, Qin also warned foreign companies doing business they had to respect Chinese rules.

"We request foreign enterprises in China to abide by the laws and regulations of China," he said.

Hu was arrested along with three Chinese colleagues on July 5. They have been accused of spying and stealing state secrets by allegedly bribing steel mill officials.

China said last week it had proof Hu stole state secrets which caused huge losses to China's economic interests and security.

But Australia has consistently complained about the handling of the case, and taken an increasingly tough line in recent days.

Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Thursday China needed to consider if Hu's detention would have any negative fall-out.

"China itself does need to think about whether its handling of this matter has any adverse implications for it," he told Sky News as he prepared to attend a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

"The international business community and nation states who do business with China will follow this matter closely," Smith added.

He was due to discuss Hu's detention on spying claims with China's Vice Foreign Minister He Yafei on the sidelines of the summit.

His comments echo those of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who on Wednesday warned China it had economic interests at stake after detaining Hu, who has been leading tough iron ore contract negotiations with Beijing.

US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, who met Premier Wen Jiabao in Beijing, told reporters he conveyed the United States' concern about the case with Chinese government officials.

"All that we can stress to the Chinese authorities is that they adhere to due process, communicate with the families of those who are being detained and especially communicate with the Australian government as to what the issues are," he said.

Locke earlier pointed out that American investors had serious concerns.

"This is of course a great concern with respect to US investors, multinational companies from around the world that have projects here, that are involved in energy," Locke told CNN.

The arrests have cast a pall over Australia's 58-billion-US-dollar trade relationship with China and reinforced fears in some quarters about the dangers of dealing with the Asian giant.

Some commentators have speculated that Hu's detention is linked to Rio's decision to snub a massive cash injection from China's state-owned Chinalco last month.

Meanwhile, the Australian Financial Review said Rio and other companies were pulling staff out of China in reaction to the arrests. A Rio spokesman in Melbourne refused to comment on the report.

Rio and fellow mining giant BHP Billiton denied a separate Financial Times report that iron ore shipments to China had been disrupted since the arrests, insisting it was business as usual.

China, the world's biggest iron ore consumer, this week said vexed contract negotiations were continuing despite Hu's arrest.

The talks had deadlocked on Beijing's demands for deeper cuts than the 33-44 percent negotiated between large mining firms and Japan and South Korea.

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