China's lead negotiator Baosteel has halted annual price talks with major iron ore suppliers BHP Billiton Ltd , Rio Tinto and Brazil's Vale , saying the miners' price demands are too high, the Australian press reported on Wednesday.

The Australian Financial Review said an official from Anshan Iron and Steel, China's second-largest steel maker, had told the paper that Baosteel had ceased to negotiate.

"At the moment the talks are at a standstill...we are not even close to reaching a consensus," the official was quoted saying.

According to one trader in Shanghai, China had said prior to the start of negotiations that it would accept a 30 percent price rise, though the miners asked for a 50 percent lift straight away.

Iron ore prices have risen sharply in recent years as the big miners struggle to keep up with demand from China's big steel producers to feed the fast-growing economy's construction boom.