A friend sent me this information which may explain the source of the Chinese rumour and adds the most unlikely Dofasco angle. How much steel is in a modern F1 car anyway?
Autoracing1.com 
Aug. 18, 2004 
We did some more research and analysis on this sale and here is how we think it will be structured by HSBC who are responsible for the sale.    HSBC has not yet announced the sequencing of the sale but we have to believe that whoever buys the Jaguar F1 team will have first shot at buying Cosworth.  The team could end up in the hands of the Canadian steel company Dofasco, which is planning its own F1 program according to Grandprix.com and had been planning to build the team from nothing.   
Canada Phil