BEIJING - China will reduce resource taxes on iron ore to aid industrial upgrades and ensure sufficient supply, the State Council said Wednesday.

Resource tax on iron ore will be reduced from 80 percent of the taxation payment base to 40 percent, effective on May 1 this year, said a statement released after an executive meeting of the State Council presided over by Premier Li Keqiang.

China's iron ore faces a low tenor and a high smelting cost and insufficient production. About 78 percent of iron ore was imported last year.

Iron ore firms have been suffering sluggish prices and production since 2014. Now only about 60 percent of iron ore firms are in production.