China's infrastructure boom may benefit the global economy

Analysts say that China consumes about half of the world's industrial metals. After gradually emerging from the severe epidemic in March, Beijing launched a huge fiscal stimulus plan to build bridges, roads, and railways across the country.

Since the end of March, the price of iron ore, a key raw material for steel, has risen by more than 40%. The price of nickel required for stainless steel and zinc for metal galvanizing has risen by more than 25%, and the price of copper has risen by about 35%. Copper is used in wiring for power transmission, construction and automobile manufacturing, and its price is regarded as a barometer of the world's industrial economy.

Last month, China's state-owned railway operating company announced that it plans to double the size of its high-speed rail network in the next 15 years. In Guangdong, the most populous Chinese province, local officials plan to invest about 700 billion yuan in public medical facilities, 5G networks and transportation infrastructure this year.