Rio Tinto chief calls for international cooperation

Jean-Sebastien Jacques, chief executive of Rio Tinto Plc, one of the top mining giants in the world, calls for increasing investment in infrastructure from the governments and businesses during the 2016 G20 Summit held in Hangzhou over the weekend.

Jean-Sebastien Jacques, chief executive of Rio Tinto Plc

"The G20 needs to work together to promote stability in the current economic environment in the short term and drive growth in the long term. Government and business acknowledge that there is a real need to work together closely to achieve this,” he said.

As a representative of the B20 (Business) Infrastructure task force, Jacques said his focus during this year’s summit has been on the opportunity that infrastructure can play in turning around the growth prospects for the international economy.

"The business community welcomes the role that China is already taking on the infrastructure front,” he said. "The One Belt One Road initiative is a great example. Working in partnership with governments, businesses and multilateral development banks, with a plan will help create jobs, drive regional growth and improve global connectivity. All of this is through investment in infrastructure.”

According to him, over the next 15 years, the infrastructure investment deficit will total approximately $20 trillion.

The 2016 B20 infrastructure task force is trying to find ways to close this infrastructure investment deficit, building on the work of the task force at previous B20s.

"The most important outcome of the B20 is building a consensus about the role that infrastructure can play in restarting global growth,” said Jacques. "It’s important to me as chief executive of Rio Tinto, one of the world’s largest metals and minerals companies.”

G20 leaders understand there are potentially many similar opportunities around the world. However, governments cannot capture the power of infrastructure investment alone. Both governments and the business sector need to be working together to collaborate on projects to derive the full potential, he said.

Business leaders are ready to work in close collaboration on large-scale infrastructure projects,” he said. "For Rio Tinto, we are ready to provide the raw materials that are the building blocks of infrastructure and the world.”

dujuan@chinadaily.com.cn