It remains unclear if China Iron and Steel Association will play a direct role in the talks this year.

Ministry of Industry and Information Technology spokesman Mr Zhu Hongren said last week that the government continues to back united iron ore talks led by CISA and the China Chamber of Commerce for Metals, Minerals and Chemical Importers and Exporters.

But Mr Zhu also said iron ore prices were a commercial matter and that Baosteel would represent the industry during the talks.

CISA has refused to comment on negotiations this year, but last week the association posted a report on its official website dismissing speculation that the big miners had frozen out Chinese mills this year, preferring instead to deal with their customers in Japan and South Korea.

CISA was heavily criticized for its inflexible negotiating tactics in 2009, when its attempt to strong arm the miners into offering a lower "China price" ended in failure, with Chinese steel firms eventually forced to accept the interim benchmark price agreed by Rio Tinto with Japanese mills.

(Sourced from Reuters)