'Ample legal basis' seen for trial of couple

The trial of a couple arrested last year following work they did for British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline PLC in China will be handled according to the law, the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

The Aug 7 trial of British investigator Peter Humphrey and his wife, Yu Yingzeng, who is a US citizen, will be closed to the public, two family friends with knowledge of the matter said last week.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei, asked whether China's handling of the case contravened diplomatic conventions, said there was "ample legal basis" for how the government was approaching the matter.