Chinese mills are trying to keep iron ore prices rising less than 30 percent in this year's industry talks with the big three global miners, the New Express Daily reported today.

It was reported that delegations from Baosteel, Wuhan Iron and Steel and others are already in Singapore to hold discussions with BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto of Australia and Brazil's Vale.

Baosteel, China's largest steel maker, was designated at the end of last year to represent China in the 2010 iron ore talks. The company has represented the country except for 2009 when the China Iron &Steel Association took over and received heavy criticism for its inflexible negotiating tactics.

The newspaper said it is hard for Chinese mills to hold a "China price" as the world's top three iron ore producers are sidelining them and focusing on negotiation with Japanese and South Korean steel companies to set a benchmark contract price.

So far Rio Tinto has finished the first round of talks with Japanese and South Korean delegations and proposed to raise the iron ore price by 40 percent, which was neither accepted nor declined.

The 2010 talks are expected to come to an agreement on the price of iron ore by April 1, China Securities Journal said, citing an unnamed source closed to the issue.