Chinese negotiators for the country's 2009 iron ore term price talks with global mining majors said they were still trying to confirm the price cuts Rio Tinto Plc (RTP) had offered Japanese steel mills, a top Chinese negotiator said Tuesday.

Reached Tuesday afternoon, Ding Shouhu, chief negotiator for Baosteel Group Corp., the Chinese mill leading the talks, said he needed to confirm the terms of the Rio-Nippon Steel deal before commenting, even after the news had been published on Rio's Web site.

Rio Tinto said Tuesday it struck a deal with Japan's Nippon Steel Corp. (5401.TO) for a 33% to 44% drop in iron ore term prices for the 2009-10 contract year that started April 1.

When asked if this meant China would still stick to its demands from miners for a 40%-45% cut from last year's terms, Ding declined to answer, reiterating that he needed to confirm the news with Rio.

-By Chuin-Wei Yap, Dow Jones Newswires; 8610 6588 5848; chuin-wei.yap@dowjones.com