âChina is motoring aheadâ: Australian mining giants ride Beijingâs cash splash
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This time last year, when coronavirus cases started sweeping the world, Rio Tintoâs Jakob Stausholm was doing the same thing as most other chief financial officers of big global businesses: steeling himself for a period of economic disruption.
China, which consumes half of the worldâs metals, had been plunged into lockdown â halting industrial activity, casting a cloud over demand for Australiaâs commodity exports. Copper prices crashed 20 per cent. Iron ore, which makes up the bulk of Rioâs earnings, began losing ground.