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China metals demand seen strong for 10 years |
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Ongoing demand for building materials as rural China becomes wealthier will help China's base metals demand stay strong for at least a decade more, the chairman and CEO of China's top aluminium firm said on Thursday.
Aluminum Corp of China, also known as Chinalco, is diversifying into copper, minor metals and rare earths to stabilize profits and capitalize on China's continued growth, chairman Xiao Yaqing told reporters.
"China's economy consumes most of its 500 million tonnes of annual steel output, and base metals demand should be about one-tenth of steel, but right now China only produces about 20 million tonnes a year of base metals," Xiao said.
He added that China may require another 6 billion tonnes of steel if its industrialization follows the same pattern as in Japan or the U.S.
"So for the next ten-plus years, all base metals demand should stay strong."
Chinalco is adjusting its development strategy, to become an international, multi-metals company, Xiao said in a briefing during the Communist Party Congress, held this week in Beijing.
Copper will be the primary focus, at some point taking up more than 50 percent of the parent group's budget, although it is still dwarfed by aluminium for the time being. back to the News |
