On November 17, 2014, President Xi Jinping who is on an official visit in Australia and Australian Prime Minister Abbott attended and witnessed the signing ceremony of Framework Agreement on the Second Extension of Channar Joint Venture between Sinosteel and Rio Tinto. Sinosteel President Xu Siwei and Rio Tinto CEO Wilson signed the agreement. The Channar joint venture project is one of the overseas mineral resources development projects Chinese state-owned enterprises participates in at the earliest. Sinosteel and Rio Tinto signed a joint venture agreement in 1987 to jointly develop the Channar iron ore located in Pilbara region of Western Australia. Among them, Sinosteel holds a 40% stake, and Rio Tinto accounts for 60% stake. Chinese side sells 10 million tons of iron ore to China every year. The total production is 200 million tons of iron ore during the first phase of the joint venture. Before the expiry of the agreement, the two parties signed an Extension Agreement to continue to produce 50 million tons of iron ore in Beijing in 2010.
For the signing of a further postponed framework agreement, President Xu Siwei said the signing of the agreement is another milestone of 27-year successful cooperation of both parties, which will make their partnership to a new height. As a large multinational group that provides comprehensive integration services for China's steel industry, Sinosteel will work with Rio Tinto to carry out more extensive and deeper cooperation. Wilson, CEO of Rio Tinto, said that the Channar joint venture project groundbreaking significance in the history of early Chinese iron and steel industry. It has become the most successful joint venture project of China with the longest operation time in Australia, and become a model for bilateral economic cooperation. He pointed out that the signing of this agreement shows that Rio Tinto and Sinosteel continue to seek opportunities for cooperation on the basis of mutually beneficial partnership relation which has built up over the years.
The successful conclusion of the 'Framework Agreement on the Second Extension of Channar Joint Venture' marks that the mutually beneficial and win-win pragmatic cooperation will reach a new level on the existing basis, which will play a positive role for promotion of the development of China's steel industry and promotion of bilateral economic and trade exchanges and cooperation.
