China steel demand to stay strong

29th March 2010

China’s steel demand is expected to double by 2020 as its urbanisation and industrialisation continues, Rio Tinto's Iron Ore chief executive Sam Walsh says. China's steel demand will remain strong despite the risks of a property bubble and low or no economic stimulus measures. "We have in the past underestimated China," Walsh says. BHP Billiton Iron Ore president Ian Ashby, who will head BHP Billiton's proposed joint venture with Rio Tinto in WA's Pilbara region, also says demand will remain strong.