Representtives of Germany's Krupp Thyssen and Dongbu Steel of the Republic of Korea recently came China to establish contact with the major steel market in Shanghai, hoping to find trading partners. The two steel giants held business talks with more than 20 Chinese firms, industry sources said.

An official from Krupp Thyssen's Beijing representative office said that as China will soon become a WTO member, there is an urgent need for his company to find out where China will import steel products from, market prices of steel and the sales situation related to the goods.

Chinese sales managers said that foreign iron and steel companies are stepping up efforts to investigate the Chinese market and at the same time seek cooperation partners.

But they said many foreign companies have underestimated the development of Chinese iron and steel enterprises.

In fact, as the Shanghai-based Baoshan Iron and Steel Company Group has become a major player in the industry, the managers said, common products cannot meet the demands of Chinese enterprises.

Foreign enterprises should realize that China only needs value-added steel products such as cold plate, and steel products with favorable prices, marketing researchers said.

Meanwhile, the researchers said Chinese steel enterprises seem to be slow in making polices to prepare for China's pending accession to the WTO.

(Xinhua)