Australian businessman Stern Hu will face trial in China on March 22, with some court sessions closed to Australian authorities.
Mr Hu and three other employees of mining giant Rio Tinto were detained in China on July 5, 2009, during contentious iron ore price talks with China's steel industry group.
The case has strained relations between Beijing and Australia, a key supplier of the bulk commodity to China's steel mills.
Australian officials in China have received official notification that the trial of Mr Hu and the other employees will begin on Monday.
He faces charges of receiving bribes and infringing commercial secrets in the Shanghai No 1 Intermediate People's Court.
Mr Hu will be represented by his legal counsel and his employer today said it hoped the trial would be transparent and expeditious.
"Rio Tinto notes that the trial to hear formal charges against the four Shanghai employees detained since 5 July 2009 will be held at the Shanghai Number One Intermediate Court from 22 March 2010," it said in a statement.
"The charges relate to receiving bribes and stealing commercial secrets. Rio Tinto understands that the sessions on receiving bribes will be held in open court and the sessions on stealing commercial secrets in closed court.
"Rio Tinto reiterates its hope for a transparent and expeditious process for its employees."
Greens leader Bob Brown said: "The trial won't be fair. It's outrageous. The man's future is at stake."
Senator Brown said there would be no way to monitor the fairness of the trial and the legal processes. Australian officials would be barred from court while the Chinese government would be "running the trial".
"Stern Hu has every right to have his Australian representatives on hand," he said.
Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop said the trial would give Hu the chance to defend himself.
"I welcome the fact that Australian Consular officials will be able to attend select parts of the trial. However, it would be preferable for the entire trial to be open," Ms Bishop said.
Ron Huisken, a China expert with the Australian National University's strategic and defence studies centre, said it was not unusual for China to hold trials behind closed doors. But it was a problem.
"I think the Chinese are silly. This just confirms widespread suspicions that all this is very arbitrary, at least by the standards of the west," Dr Huisken said.
"Their laws can be skewed around but they don't want anybody to witness the process."
Dr Huisken said the trial would be a "sore in the wound" in relations between Australia and China. Public opinion in Australia would likely compel the government to cool its ties with China in protest.
Economic factors might limit the damage.
"We're making an awful lot of money out of China ... (There are) very strong motives on our part not to needlessly rock the boat."
Iron ore price negotiations between Australia and China look set to be more contentious this year than ever before.
A spokesperson for Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Australian consular officials would attend the open sessions of the trial, which related to the charge of receiving bribes.
Australia has objected to not all of the sessions being open.
"At the request of one of the parties and in accordance with Chinese law and procedure, the court has decided that the sessions dealing with the infringement of commercial secrets should be closed," the spokesperson said.
"As a consequence, court authorities have advised that Australian consular officials are not able to attend that part of the proceedings.
"Australian officials have asked for this to be reconsidered."
The spokesperson welcomed the fact that the case was now moving to a trial.
Chinese
law provides for a maximum penalty of seven years' jail and a fine for
stealing commercial secrets, and more than five years' jail for bribery.
