China News Service, Beijing, November 4 (Reporter Pang Wuji) A global mining giant with a history of more than 150 years is seeing new possibilities from China. In the past, China was an important mineral market for Rio Tinto. Today, the mining giant has begun to integrate the design, manufacturing, engineering construction and even technical capabilities of Chinese companies into its global projects more deeply.
"What we are really cooperating with is China's entire ecosystem, not just a certain company." Chris Aitchison, president of global projects of Rio Tinto Group, said in a recent interview with a reporter from China News Service that at some point, Rio Tinto has also become part of China's ecosystem.
This change is epitomized in the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea. As one of the largest mining projects in the world, Simandou involves the construction of mines, railways, ports and other infrastructure. During the execution phase, builders from more than 40 countries participated, with more than 27,000 people involved during the peak period. Chinese companies are deeply involved, and the cooperation covers investment, engineering construction, equipment supply and other aspects.
A key word that Aiqisen mentioned repeatedly is "Chinese ecology". "In the past, we have never had such in-depth cooperation with Chinese EPC (engineering general contracting) companies and construction companies like we did in the Simandou project." He said that for example, the China Railway 18th Bureau, a subsidiary of China Railway Construction, participated in the construction of the Simandou branch railway and invested about 15,000 people. The railway was constructed using Chinese standards, and all parties have also made adjustments to their original working methods, and the cooperation has achieved good safety performance.
In Aiqisen's view, the advantage of Chinese companies lies not only in the engineering capabilities of individual companies, but also in the interconnected industrial ecology behind them. Design, manufacturing, construction and other links follow relatively unified standards, and mature design and construction experience can be reused. Through standardization and modularization, various links can be efficiently connected, reducing repeated design and engineering changes.
This ecosystem comes from the practical experience accumulated by Chinese companies from their long-term participation in a large number of projects. He believes that the joint construction of "Belt and Road" related projects provides Chinese contractors with abundant practical opportunities and promotes the gradual formation of synergy in design, manufacturing, construction and operation capabilities. The advantage of Chinese companies lies not only in speed and cost efficiency, but also in their ability to mobilize resources across the entire ecosystem to achieve the entire process from design to delivery.
Aiqisen believes that international companies also need to re-understand China's standards and regulatory system. In the past, some foreign companies' views on Chinese manufacturing and Chinese standards were outdated. China's relevant standards have developed rapidly, and some have reached the same international level, and even higher in some fields.
This change in perception is also reflected in Rio Tinto's actual business. Rio Tinto's purchases in China will increase from approximately US$1 billion in 2020 to approximately US$4.3 billion in 2025, an increase of more than three times. By 2030, Chinese companies are expected to participate in potential project expenditures of approximately US$1 billion in major Rio Tinto projects, involving areas such as equipment, materials, engineering, manufacturing, modularization and project services.
Aiqison said that in the next 5 to 10 years, cooperation between Rio Tinto and Chinese companies will no longer be limited to engineering construction and procurement, but will also extend to the technical field, including using new technologies to improve mining processes, improve smelter performance, and optimize production operations.
Aiqisen believes that global large-scale mining projects have long cycles, large capital investments, and complex implementations. It is difficult for one company to complete them alone, and it will become increasingly important to establish broad and in-depth partnerships.
From the Simandou project, we can see that Chinese enterprises' "going out" is moving beyond single product exports and project contracting to systematic participation based on industrial chain collaboration and integrating technology, manufacturing, construction and operation capabilities. For international companies, cooperation with China is no longer just a supplier, but an industrial ecosystem that can provide multi-link support.
