This photo taken on July 19, 2018 shows a worker loading sacks of animal feed made from soybeans at the Hopefull Grain and Oil Group in Sanhe, in China's northern Hebei province. The company is currently using soybeans imported from Brazil, after recently changing from U.S. soybeans.

In just 40 years, China has grown to become the world's largest buyer of a number of commodities — from soybeans to copper.

"China's influence across global commodity markets is without parallel," said Wood Mackenzie, a commodities consultancy in a report earlier this year.

China's appetite for commodities has grown since the country's economic reforms in 1978, tracking its rise to become the world's second-largest economy.

Demand for raw materials like copper and steel have been largely driven by the country's manufacturing and construction boom, as well as by the needs of its 1.4 billion population.

As Beijing commemorates the 70th anniversary of Communist China on Oct. 1 this year, there are looming concerns the country's trade war with the U.S. could hurt the prices of commodities amid an expected global slowdown.

While trade tensions will continue to impact the markets, the medium-term outlook for various commodities will still see China being a major buyer even though the country's economic growth is expected to moderate, said analysts. Trends such as shifts to cleaner energy will also help shape the sector.

These four charts show how much Chinese demand for various commodities has grown.