Shu Jueting, a ministry spokeswoman, said the two sides discussed trade and investment issues and exchanged views on the further expansion of cooperation in emerging areas.

Earnings at Rio Tinto and BHP Group are seen declining 48% and 28%, respectively, for the six months to December 2022, while Fortescue's half-year earnings are set to slide about 16%, based on estimates from Visible Alpha and Vuma Financial.

"We are very much looking forward to welcoming Chinese travelers back to Australia," said Hogg.

Northeast China's Heilongjiang province saw its foreign trade in goods grow by 33 percent year-on-year to 265.15 billion yuan ($39.44 billion) in 2022, customs data showed.

China's top economic regulator vows to further strengthen supervision on iron ore futures and spot markets.

Mining exports from Peru, particularly copper, gold, tin and zinc, among others – will end 2022 significantly lower than in 2021.

The 2303 ferrosilicon contract price on ZCE closed at 8492 yuan per ton on January 12.

In the first 11 months of last year, the country's iron ore imports dipped 2.1 percent year-on-year to around 1.02 billion metric tons, he said.