TOKYO -- As the world recovers from the two-year COVID pandemic and faces surging inflation, China's efforts to bolster its economy will be key to stimulating commodity demand, said the head of one of the world's largest resource suppliers.

"The Western world is trying to address inflation by increasing interest rates. It is of course important for the health of the Western world's economy," said Jakob Stausholm, CEO of Rio Tinto, in an interview with Nikkei Asia. "But [what is] even more important is the health of the Chinese economy, [which] has actually been growing quite significantly during COVID."