China's Belt and Road Initiative is expected to generate around 6.5 million tonnes of copper demand across more than 60 Asian and European countries over 2018-2027, according to new research from MarchWin Consulting as commissioned by the International Copper Association (ICA).
The Belt and Road Initiative was first unveiled by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013 and aims to strengthen infrastructure, trade and investment links between China and some 64 other countries across Asia and Europe that collectively accounted for 16.1% of global gross domestic product and 43.5% of global population in 2016, according to data from the consultancy firm.Infrastructure projects associated with the initiative have great potential to boost demand for copper owing to the red metal's applications in the power, construction and transportation industries, Wang Yadong, author of the research and founder of Shanghai MarchWin Consulting, told Fastmarkets during an...