Bringing Chinese investment into the embattled Oakajee port and rail network won't be easy, West Australia Premier Colin Barnett says, with the country still debating the massive project.
Mr Barnett met with Chinese government officials last week to discuss bringing them into the $6 billion port and rail project in WA's mid west.
The project hit a major hurdle last month when joint venture partner Murchison Metals admitted it can't fund its share of one of Australia's biggest planned infrastructure projects.
Japanese company Mitsubishi is the other joint venture partner, while both the WA government and the federal government have pitched in $339 million each to build the bulk of the Oakajee port.
Mr Barnett said China was formally invited to join the project during a meeting with the country's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) last week and they were now working on a way for that to happen.
But the WA Premier said it would not be easy with China still unhappy about missing out on the original tender process.
"I think they will take their time and they're probably inflicting a little bit of pain on us in the sense of `why didn't you go with China in the first place, now you're going to have to put up with us taking our time'," Mr Barnett told Fairfax Radio.
"I take their overall response is that they are keen to participate in Oakajee, but it will never be an easy project.
He added there is still 13 billion tonnes of iron ore in the ground in the mid west and that resource will find its way to market.
The project is already behind schedule and the costs have almost doubled from $3 billion in March 2009 to an estimated $5.94 million in July.
Mr Barnett said for the project to proceed the capital costs needed to come down.
One of ways of doing that is building the project in stages, the premier said, or delegating specific parts of the project to various individual parties.
Mr Barnett said his meeting with the NDRC, the body responsible for deciding the major investments for its state-owned businesses, was one of the frankest meetings he's ever had.
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