Here's why the BHP (ASX:BHP) boss is still optimistic about China

The BHP boss is positive about the company's business relationship with China.

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Key points
  • The BHP share price is slightly ahead today 
  • The company's shares have rocketed 17% since the start of the year 
  • BHP CEO Mike Henry has expressed optimism on the company's relationship with China 

The BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price has spent most of the day in the green amid CEO Mike Henry expressing confidence in the company's business relationship with China.

At the time of writing, the BHP share price is up 0.09% at $48.58.

Let's take a look at what the boss of this ASX mining giant had to say about China.

Two businesspeople walk together in an office, smiling as they enjoy a good business relationship.

Image source: Getty Images

Positive on China

BHP's boss has expressed confidence that tensions are not impacting the company's business relationship with China.

Speaking at the Australian Financial Review Business Summit in Sydney, Henry said:

Clear geopolitical tensions in the near term, are not yet manifesting in terms of the business-to-business relationship.

Over the sorts of timeframes that BHP thinks about… we're pretty confident that there will be a constructive relationship there not just at a business level but also a political level.

One has to believe that in the fullness of time, things recalibrate back into a more constructive footing.

BHP's share price has climbed just 1.46% over the past 12 months.

In the same speech, Henry also touched on the impact of rising commodity prices:

We have seen hundreds of percentage increases of prices on a range of commodities.

That is going to have a spillover economic effect on inflation, potentially on global growth.

As my Foolish colleague Tristan Harrison reported on Monday, BHP is looking for growth in future-facing commodities, including copper, nickel and potash. Henry foresees the world will need more copper and nickel as it progresses towards decarbonisation.

BHP delivered a 57% boost in profit in 1H FY22 results and a 27% boost in revenue.

BHP share price recap

The BHP share price is up just 0.5% this week, though it has surged 17% since the start of the year.

For perspective, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has descended 5.2% year to date.

BHP has a market capitalisation of $245.8 billion based on the current share price.

The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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