According to the SSF's annual report, its total assets stand at 562.4 billion yuan ($82 billion). The fund made an accumulated profit of 160 billion yuan ($23 billion) in the past eight years.

The SSF said it would be more prudent when investing in stock markets this year and would reduce its investments in fixed income products but pour more money into equity funds.

Dai Xianglong, Chairman of the National Council for the SSF, said in April that it might invest in three to five privat equity funds this year.

No Compromise

Chinese importers have insisted on a 40-percent iron ore price cut and said they will not accept any higher price.

But Sam Walsh, Chairman of Rio Tinto Plc, one of the world's big three iron ore miners, refused to agree to the proposed price cut.

The China Iron & Steel Association said China would not compromise and that the Australian mining companies would lose more money if they failed to ink a long-term deal soon.

In 2008, before the world was hit by credit crunch, miners had the upper hand in pricing and managed to wrangle big increases. Rio Tinto secured a 96.5-percent increase in 2007.

Shan Shanghua, Secretary General of the China Iron & Steel Association, said the suppliers should make concessions this year, because "they got a windfall due to surging Chinese demand, and iron ore is now a buyers' market."

Although China can stop importing iron ore, Brazil's Companhia Vale do Rio Doce and Australia's Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton Ltd. cannot stop exporting, Shan told China Securities Journal. He said he based his judgment on China's growing iron ore inventories.

Currently, imported iron ore stored at Chinese ports amounts to more than 70 million tons due to reduced demand for iron and steel products amid the economic downturn. Meanwhile, domestic mines can fulfill 50 percent of China's iron ore demands.

If no long-term agreements are reached before June 30, suppliers will have to sell iron ore on the spot market, where iron ore prices are less than what the Chinese will offer.

Buy More in Europe

The Ministry of Commerce is preparing to dispatch a second purchase delegation to Europe in June, according to an article in the Economic Observer.

The delegation will be composed of two investment promotion teams, one of which will head to France, Sweden, Finland and Italy, while the other will go to Russia, Slovakia and Croatia.

Ministry officials said the delegation would promote a balance of bilateral trade between Europe and China. Business managers will sign trade agreements, investment deals and hold trade cooperation forums.