Brazilian mining giant expands cooperation with China to drive green transformation

Vale, a Brazilian mining giant and one of the largest mining companies in the world, is working with Chinese partners on various projects across the world to promote green transformation, the company's CEO Gustavo Pimenta has said.

Pimenta made the statement in an interview with China Central Television on the occasion of the China Development Forum 2025 held in Beijing on March 23-24.

Pimenta was among the heads of about 80 multinationals who attended the China Development Forum 2025 in exploring new cooperation opportunities with the world's second-largest economy.

In the interview, Pimenta mentioned that Vale and its Chinese partners are jointly developing new steel production hubs in the gas-rich Middle East, with plans to use hydrogen technology to replace traditional energy sources. This initiative aligns with Vale's decarbonization strategy.

The company has already made progress in reducing carbon emissions, notably through its partnership with Chinese suppliers to set up a large solar park in Brazil.

"We are developing new hubs with our Chinese clients in areas where we have access to cheaper natural gas. In the future, hydrogen. In the Middle East, for example, has one potential hub for steel manufacturing, and a lot of our Chinese clients are going with us in that journey," he said.

Speaking about building a new project in Oman, the CEO highlighted the speed and efficiency of their Chinese partner.

"One announcement we did last year was the development of a new concentration facility in Oman, and we are doing this with a Chinese partner. The project is moving extremely well, to a point that my Chinese partner is saying they can eventually bring the project earlier, which is quite unique in the environment where usually projects are more expensive and take longer. The experience that sometimes we have with Chinese partners is that they deliver on budget and sometimes even earlier than the timeline, which for us is a tremendous experience that we are having," said Pimenta.

Vale is also looking to take its cooperation with China to the next level by developing more "green hubs" in the Middle East, particularly in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, to explore new models for zero-carbon steel production, the CEO said.

In addition, as the Chinese government sends clearer signals to welcome foreign investment and introduces more policies to create a favorable business environment, foreign-funded enterprises are increasingly strengthening their expansion in China.

"I was very happy to see very decisive actions on the fiscal side and many other actions that have been very well received by the market. In fact, when we talk to our clients here, we started to see very real impact in consumption, downstream in people's life," Pimenta said.

Brazilian mining giant expands cooperation with China to drive green transformation

Residents of earthquake-damaged areas of Myanmar are in urgent need of safe drinking water, health care, and temporary shelter after Friday's devastating quake, according to Arnaud de Baecque the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegation in Myanmar.

The quake hit the center of Myanmar, with an epicenter close to Mandalay, the country's second-largest city.

Despite international rescue and relief efforts, residents are living in harsh conditions and facing multiple challenges, de Baecque said.

"People are sleeping in the street, people are trying to access medical care, but the buildings are damaged as well. The hospital and primary health-care center cannot be used for now. We have sent already some reinforcement from Yangon together with the National Society of the Myanmar Red Cross to support the initial efforts. And we know also that we've seen the Chinese response, including the search and rescue teams that are still active in the first few days. We hope to find more survivors. And also the support given by the Chinese Red Cross society that is integrated into the general effort," said de Baecque.

The most urgent needs of the affected residents are clean water, health care, especially for the elderly, and safe shelter, according to the ICRC official, with scorching temperatures adding to the challenges.

"Access to safe drinking water is a priority. As the electricity is down, the water pumping system is not working, so the treatment of the water is not happening, temperatures are very high. We're reaching the hot season up to 40 degrees Celsius. Support for old people injured during the earthquake and their health in general would be the second one. And the third is support for livelihood and people who cannot access their homes and their kitchens just to keep having food and a way of sleeping in a safe manner, even if it's outside in the street," said de Baecque.

The death toll from the 7.9-magnitude earthquake has risen to 2,719, with 4,521 people injured and more than 440 listed as missing, according to an announcement on Tuesday from Myanmar's leader Min Aung Hlaing.

Myanmar residents lack clean water, health care, shelter after quake: Red Cross official