Rio Tinto CEO: China a key hub for innovation

Rio Tinto is strategically targeting China's growing demand for critical minerals, capitalizing on the country's energy transition and high-quality development goals to expand its footprint in its largest market.

China remains central to the global mining giant's strategy, with expanding opportunities for collaboration across the entire value chain, said Simon Trott, CEO of Rio Tinto.

Rio Tinto sees strong alignment between its strategic direction and the country's roadmap for the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), which emphasizes industrial transformation, innovation and high-quality growth, he said.

"For Rio Tinto, the plan provides a really clear pathway and a very clear framework. I think it is very well connected to Rio Tinto's purpose of finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs," Trott said at the recent China Development Forum 2026 in Beijing.

Trott said he believes the global push for an energy transition, alongside China's continuous industrial upgrading, presented a significant opportunity for the company.

"The resilience of China's economy and the ongoing manufacturing base here in China mean that it will continue to be a large consumer of our resources," Trott noted, highlighting that future technological innovations will rely heavily on these fundamental materials.

To meet this structural shift in demand, Rio Tinto recently revised its corporate strategy to focus intensely on four key commodities: iron ore, aluminum, copper and lithium.

The company has laid out clear expansion targets, aiming to increase its lithium production capacity to 200,000 metric tons by 2028 through recent strategic acquisitions. Additionally, it is targeting 1 million tons of copper production by 2030, driven largely by the ramp-up of the Oyu Tolgoi project in Mongolia.

Trott noted that Rio Tinto strives to support China's industrial evolution by deepening innovative partnerships. This cooperative model is particularly evident in the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea, a massive joint venture involving Chinese partners that recently came online and aims for 5 to 10 million tons of sales in 2026.

Industry experts believe this collaborative effort is highly relevant given the maturing of China's steel industry, which is increasingly focused on reducing its carbon footprint and improving efficiency.

According to Zhao Xiangbin, chief strategist at Beijing Gold and Forex Fortune Investment Management, although China's massive consumer base has historically made it a prime destination for international mining leaders like Rio Tinto, BHP and Vale, these giants are now actively seeking to collaborate with Chinese enterprises on overseas ventures.

Chinese collaborators provide much more than just funding; they are instrumental in delivering advanced equipment and critical engineering expertise for infrastructure development, he said.

According to Trott, as the steel industry continues to do an amazing job in terms of reducing its carbon emissions, the ores at Simandou will be well-suited to the evolution of the industry.

Beyond being a primary destination for its products, China has rapidly evolved into a crucial supply source and important partner for the mining group.

Rio Tinto's procurement spending in China reached $4.3 billion in 2025, a figure Trott expects to continue rising.

Over the past decade, the company has sourced approximately $22 billion in goods and services from the country. This growing volume reflects the increasing sophistication of China's supply chains and Rio Tinto's confidence in the market, he added.

This transition toward deeper collaborative ties also aligns with Rio Tinto's global mergers and acquisitions strategy. The company recently announced a joint acquisition with Aluminum Corp of China Ltd (Chalco) for a stake in Brazilian aluminum company CBA, leveraging shared interests and established trust to secure future growth.

Rio Tinto views China not just as a consumer market, but as a critical hub for partnership and innovation, Trott said.

"The changes in the world just underline that you can't go alone. By working together, we can advance innovation. By working together, we can support industrial transformation. And by working together, we can ensure that we continue to produce the materials the world needs."