China, Oz ties to hold despite backing mills on price talks

Beijing - Two key ministries have, for the first time, vowed to back Chinese steel mills in their fierce annual negotiations with international iron ore giants - but the move is unlikely to affect recovering ties between Beijing and Canberra, experts said on Wednesday.

Ministry of Commerce spokesman Yao Jian said on Tuesday that it would work with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to support Chinese steel mills, including adopting necessary trade measures, without revealing details.

In the ongoing negotiations for annual contracts, the price rise demanded by the major ore suppliers, namely Australia's BHP Billiton, Anglo-Australian Rio Tinto and Brazil's Vale, has soared from 20-30 percent, to 80-90 percent.