Chinese companies made up 80% of global electric cargo truck sales last year – a striking lead in a market that saw more than 90,000 units sold. In some cases, the total cost of ownership for a Chinese battery-electric heavy-duty truck is already lower than its diesel counterpart.

At Rio Tinto, our decades-long collaboration with Chinese manufacturers is harnessing this speed of innovation, enabling us to move faster, think differently, and find better ways to support our operations and deliver the materials the world needs. But it's also a relationship focused on shared value – we're moving from transactional purchasing to strategic partnerships, helping suppliers access global markets. By aligning with China's competitive advantage in battery electrification and its industrial development agenda, we're co-creating solutions that deliver reduced emissions, higher reliability, lower costs, and stronger long-term capability.

From cost to value

At the heart of this approach is a redefined role for procurement – not just as a function to negotiate prices, but as an enabler for systemic change. By combining China's rapid innovation and scale with Rio Tinto's operational expertise and global standards, we are co-creating technology and equipment tailored for our future needs. Our early-stage engagement with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and fabricators focuses on co-designing lower-emissions and lower-cost equipment using shared roadmaps, joint testing, and a total cost of ownership (TCO) lens, instead of unit price. This has led to faster deployments, fewer defects, and higher uptime.

In this model, decarbonisation is not a cost – it's a value-adding opportunity. Our supplier evaluation criteria include emissions baselines, credible targets, and transparent TCO. We prioritise energy-efficient designs, renewable-powered manufacturing, recycled and low-carbon materials, and circularity (repair, refurbishment, refabrication). This enables like-for-like decisions across carbon and cost over an asset's life.

A new model of co-innovation

More than equipment purchases, this partnership model represents a new paradigm for industrial collaboration – one that delivers long-term sustainable value for Rio Tinto, our suppliers, and the markets we operate in. This includes enabling local jobs, building skills, and advancing innovation that meets global standards.

For example, alongside the 34 trucks and 6 graders bound for Simandou – our high-grade iron ore project in Guinea, and Africa's largest mining and infrastructure development - we've signed a global framework agreement with Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group (XCMG) for future supply of the same equipment. The agreement also includes deployment of 150 on-site maintenance personnel, as well as joint local commitments in Guinea focused on community development, skills training, and employment – all critical to successful future delivery.

In another example of deep co-development, our partnership with SPIC-Qiyuan Green Power Technology is trialling battery-swap electric haul truck technology at the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine. We've deployed eight 90t battery electric trucks and a battery swapping station at our Oyu Tolgoi operations, working together to make over 500 design adjustments to ensure the trucks are more aligned with Rio Tinto's requirements, supporting safe operations and ease of maintainability. As a result, SPIC-Qiyuan's partner Tonly has now sold more than 600 of these vehicles across China and Mongolia - showing the commercial potential of jointly built solutions.

Earlier this year, we also signed a 5-year global agreement with Sailun Group Co., China's largest tyre supplier. Under the agreement, Maxam-branded off-the-road tyres will be supplied for the Simandou fleet. Importantly, Sailun Group together with China National Engineering Research Center for Rubber and Tire will partner with Rio Tinto to develop advanced tyres that enhance performance and cost efficiency, improve safety and reduce emissions.

Meanwhile, we're also seeing faster deployment of modular site camps. Since 2012, over 8,500 rooms have been supplied from China to Rio Tinto's sites across Australia and Mongolia. Through our Supplier Development Program, we're co-innovating with three Chinese suppliers to streamline design and delivery. Together, we've co-developed an end-to-end solution – from optimised module sizing for efficient transportation – to standardised engineering designs and equivalent material substitutions. These innovations have enabled an up to 20% reduction in lead times, alongside cost savings. The designs also transform our camps into true ‘Homes Away from Home', with enhanced amenities, ESG-aligned design, and a strong focus on safety, inclusion, and wellbeing for our frontline team members.

Key learnings along the journey

The evolving model of co-creation has revealed several lessons:

• Relationships over transactions: Purchase orders and MoUs alone don't deliver the most valuable outcomes. Long-term global framework agreements and mutual understanding do. Our framework agreements set the values and expectations that shape all partnerships, enabling us to deploy Chinese solutions at scale in our global operations.
• Start with the problem and unlock co-invention: We get better results when we describe the operational challenge, not prescribe the solution, and then we work together with supplier engineering teams that can rapidly prototype and refine new solutions that meet our business needs.
• On-the-ground integration: Collaborative implementation between multiple suppliers and our operational teams accelerates deployment and improves shared outcomes.
• Digital traceability builds trust: Supply chain transparency ensures compliance with ESG standards and worker welfare, enabling faster approvals and stronger social licence.
• Invest in capability, not just capacity: By supporting supplier readiness – across quality systems, cost transparency, and carbon accounting – we create shared performance gains. We embed supplier technical experts into our sites to help integrate new technologies. This two-way learning cycle drives better future innovations.

Shared benefit and market impact

This new model benefits both Rio Tinto and our suppliers. By co-designing for our needs, suppliers gain market-ready products that can be scaled and sold internationally. It's a model that can strengthen the entire industry by producing safer, cost effective and more carbon-efficient equipment aligned to global standards.

We're showing that procurement, done differently, can be a catalyst for sustainable value – created with suppliers, delivered to customers, and shared with communities. By combining China's scale and speed with Rio Tinto's operational strength and commercial reach, we're unlocking powerful potential to accelerate the energy transition – at pace and at scale.