China in a tight corner, say analysts

SHANGHAI: The price agreement inked between Rio Tinto Group and Nippon Steel Corp will put China in a difficult position at this year's iron ore negotiations, according to analysts.

Ding Bo, an employee with Baosteel, the barometer of China's steel industry, said this would leave uncertainties for China's negotiation price. "According to the practice over the years, once the price was set, we had no choice but to follow it," he said. But this year, as China Iron & Steel Association (CISA) has firmly insisted on a 40 percent price cut for iron ore, "things would be more complicated".

Officials from CISA refused to comment on the latest negotiation results. Calls to Chen Ying, Baosteel's board secretary, went unanswered.