China's business press carried the following stories on Tuesday. China.org.cn has not checked the stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

Chinalco, Rio in talks on Guinea mine—shihua.com.cn

State-owned Aluminum Corp of China (Chinalco) and Australian iron ore giant Rio Tinto are in talks on the US$12 billion Simandou iron ore mine in Guinea, West Africa.

The negotiations are being held in Beijing and are thought to focus on how to use Chinalco's strong financing backing from Chinese banks, China's political leverage and experience of building infrastructure in Africa.

Chinalco is the top shareholder in Rio Tinto with a 9.3 percent stake, but relations suffered a setback last year, when Rio rebuffed a further US$19.5 billion investment by Chinalco and China detained Rio employees on charges of stealing trade secrets.

Steelmakers ask Wen to intervene in iron ore talks—Beijing Business Today

Major Chinese steelmakers including Baosteel, Wuhan Iron & Steel, Anshan Iron & Steel, and Hebei Iron & Steel, have asked Premier Wen Jiabao to involve the government in tricky iron ore price talks, setting off worries among Australian political leaders who had hoped the Chinese government would stay out of the talks.

The heads of more than 10 steel companies wrote a joint letter to Wen on March 11, asking him to handle the issue of soaring iron ore import prices that have taken a heavy toll on their business, but no details of the letter have been made public.

The three major global mining giants, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Vale S.A. have asked for a 90 percent increase in prices, leading to a deadlock in the annual talks.

Fiat joint venture approved—China Business News

A plan to create a 50-50 joint venture between Fiat and Guangzhou Automobile Group was approved by the Ministry of Commerce on March 8.

The JV will build a 173-acre car and engine plant in Changsha, Hunan Province, at a cost of 5.03 billion yuan (US$0.736 million). Production is set to begin in September 2011.

The joint venture, announced last July, is seen as the latest of a series of moves by the Italian automaker to expand its presence in Chinese market.