Foreign iron investment urged

Commission encourages Chinese steelmakers to boost global footprint

Chinese steelmakers that have lost money because of volatile global iron ore prices should invest more in foreign mineral resources to gain greater pricing power, the National Development and Reform Commission said on Monday.

The agency said on its website that the nation's dependence on iron ore imports won't change in the long term, because there still will be rising demand for iron ore in China, the world's biggest buyer of the commodity.