Last year, domestic companies along with their overseas peers were forced to accept a price rise of 71.5 percent. They have made clear that far from agreeing to any similar increase for this year, they want at least no change and preferably a reduction.

Shanghai Baosteel, the nation's largest steelmaker, has had unsuccessful meetings with companies including Australia's BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto Group, as well as Brazil's Companhia Vale do Rio Doce, the China Daily reported.

The negotiations have stalled because domestic steelmakers and foreign miners insist on vastly different prices amid contrary views on the short-term outlook of the market, the newspaper said.

"Miners insisted on raising prices further while we insisted on cutting them," the newspaper cited a Baosteel official as saying.

"We didn't get any chance to (go over) detailed figures because both parties are expecting opposite price directions."

The Chinese side said a price increase was not justified, partly because domestic steel manufacturers were in oversupply.

Baosteel is the only representative of Chinese enterprises in talks with the miners this year. The prices Baosteel agrees upon will be accepted by all domestic mills and iron ore traders.

All the other steelmakers and iron ore trading companies have been banned from holding individual iron ore price negotiations for 2006 term contracts with international miners.

Long-term iron ore prices between major suppliers and buyers are generally settled before April, when deliveries for those contracts are scheduled to begin, according to the China Daily.

If an agreement cannot be reached before April 1, the two sides could trade iron ore at last year's prices, the newspaper said.

China's price negotiations are important in setting prices around the world, with other companies such as Japan Nippon Steel awaiting the outcome of Baosteel's contracts before finalizing its own, the China Daily said.