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BEIJING, March 6 (Reuters) - China should use some of its foreign exchange reserves to set up a fund to acquire mineral resources overseas, the chairman of state metals trader Minmetals said in a proposal to the national parliament, which began its annual session this week.

Zhou Zhongshu said in his submission, released to the media on Friday, that demand and prices for minerals were expected to remain depressed for the next year or two, giving China the opportunity to make low-cost acquisitions overseas.

((Reporting by Alfred Cang and Coco Li; Writing by Tom Miles; Editing by Ken Wills; [email protected]; Reuters Messaging:

[email protected]; +8610 6627 1200))

Keywords: MINMETALS/