SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Chilean copper giant Codelco is seeing strong demand for the red metal from China in the second quarter, the firm's chairman told Reuters on Thursday.

"We're seeing really strong demand from China in this second quarter," Codelco chairman Maximo Pacheco said on the sidelines of the CRU copper conference in Santiago. "China is buying at these prices."

Codelco had diverted spot copper shipments in the first quarter to the United States as customers were stocking up amid expectations of the imposition of tariffs by President Donald Trump.

The miner is the world's top copper producer and China is already one of its top buyers.

Pacheco told Reuters earlier this week that he was confident in the long-term stability of the copper market.