China is world’s 3rd largest motor producer

CHINA’S output of motor vehicles ranked third in the world after Japan and the United States in 2007, according to statistics from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM).

China’s automakers produced 8.88 million motor vehicles last year, up 22.02 percent from a year earlier, with 6.38 million passenger vehicles and 2.5 million commercial vehicles, according to CAAM figures.

Australian miners warned of ‘revenge’

CHINA’S top steelmakers’ association had warned that Australian mining companies could face “revenge” over the aggressive pursuit of higher prices for iron ore, a report said Friday.

The comments come as Anglo-Australian mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto have reportedly dismissed as too low a 65 percent increase in annual contract prices agreed to by Brazil’s Vale. Deputy director-general of China Iron and Steel Association Chen Xianwen told the Australian Financial Review that if Rio and BHP were able to extract higher prices, China’s steel industry could turn away from Australia even though many mills were desperate for supplies.