Global miner Rio Tinto is optimistic about China's economic growth potential and will stick to its long-term strategy there, its chairman Dominic Barton said after a meeting on Tuesday with a senior Chinese official, state media reported.
The comments come as China's economy struggles to make a quick post-pandemic recovery amid a deepening housing crisis, concerns about local government debt, slowing global growth and geopolitical tensions.
Rio Tinto is the world's largest producer of iron ore and China is its biggest customer, although the company also produces other metals - key to energy transition plans - such as copper, aluminum and lithium.
In a meeting with Barton in the Chinese capital, Vice President Han Zheng said Beijing was committed to further deepening reforms, widening the opening of its economy, promoting development and working with other countries to address common challenges.
"We welcome Rio Tinto Group's efforts to continue deepening practical cooperation with China," he said in an address quoted by the official Xinhua news agency.
An interesting detail is that the current chairman of the company, Barton, was actually a former Canadian ambassador to China.
Earlier, the company announced it was delaying the start of production from its giant Simandou iron ore project in Guinea until 2025 as it plans to spend about $6.2 billion on areas such as port and rail infrastructure.
Simandou, which will be the world's largest and highest-grade new iron ore mine, is part of Rio's Simfer joint venture with China's Chalco Iron Ore Holdings (CIOH) and the Guinean government. Rio Tinto owns a 53% stake, while CIOH holds the rest.
The comments come as China's economy struggles to make a quick post-pandemic recovery amid a deepening housing crisis, concerns about local government debt, slowing global growth and geopolitical tensions.
Rio Tinto is the world's largest producer of iron ore and China is its biggest customer, although the company also produces other metals - key to energy transition plans - such as copper, aluminum and lithium.
In a meeting with Barton in the Chinese capital, Vice President Han Zheng said Beijing was committed to further deepening reforms, widening the opening of its economy, promoting development and working with other countries to address common challenges.
"We welcome Rio Tinto Group's efforts to continue deepening practical cooperation with China," he said in an address quoted by the official Xinhua news agency.
An interesting detail is that the current chairman of the company, Barton, was actually a former Canadian ambassador to China.
Earlier, the company announced it was delaying the start of production from its giant Simandou iron ore project in Guinea until 2025 as it plans to spend about $6.2 billion on areas such as port and rail infrastructure.
Simandou, which will be the world's largest and highest-grade new iron ore mine, is part of Rio's Simfer joint venture with China's Chalco Iron Ore Holdings (CIOH) and the Guinean government. Rio Tinto owns a 53% stake, while CIOH holds the rest.
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