After
China cut its economic growth target to 7.5 percent in 2012 from a target of eight percent growth set for the past eight years,
Rio Tinto's
iron ore chief executive Sam Walsh has said that
China will continue to be a key consumer of
iron ore, according to media reports.
Mr. Walsh assured investors worried that
Rio Tinto could face an oversupply of
iron ore that 7.5 percent economic growth is not considered low by many countries, adding that
China's crude steel consumption is forecast to amount to 1 billion mt by 2020.
Rio Tinto will also continue to hire people due to the labor shortage in the Western
Australia resources industry caused by the
mining boom mostly driven by Chinese demand, Walsh said.