Baosteel Group Corp., China's appointed negotiator in iron ore price talks with global mining majors, has accepted a 23% increase in the iron ore price for third-quarter contracts, a person familiar with the matter said Friday.

"Baosteel doesn't have much of a choice in the matter," the person, a senior executive of a state-owned steel company, told Dow Jones Newswires.

Baosteel, an influential industry leader and the country's second largest steelmaker, is said to have accepted a July-September price offer of $147 a metric ton, excluding freight, from Anglo-Australian miners BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) and Rio Tinto Plc (RTP).

A Baosteel Group Corp. media official declined comment Friday, saying, "We haven't received any (public) notice on this yet."

The two miners have longstanding policies of not commenting on the details of price talks.

"Other mills are likely to follow Baosteel, as they also don't have much of a choice," the person familiar with the matter said.