Three European steel companies -France's Usinor, Arbed of Luxembourg and Spain's Aceralia - announced in February an all-share merger worth US$4.6 billion to create the world's biggest steel maker.
Wang said the Chinese government was encouraging domestic companies to tie up with foreign firms.
A Baosteel spokesman confirmed earlier this year that the company, which went public in Shanghai last year, intended to form a cross-shareholding agreement with Nippon Steel of Japan and South Korea's Pohang Iron and Steel after its listing on the overseas stock markets.
Currently, Baosteel's marriage with Nippon Steel and Pohang is at the level of technical exchange and market trend analysis.
The three conglomerates now control one-fifth of the Asian steel market.
China Steel Corp, the largest steel maker in Taiwan Province, was reported last week by foreign media sources to be seeking a strategic alliance with five major Japanese steel companies, including Nippon Steel, to counter rising raw material costs.
(China Daily 07/09/2001)