China to Meet India’s Rare Earth Demand

Darwin, August 20 — In a move that could help rebuild strained ties following the 2020 border clash, China has pledged to meet India’s demand for rare earth elements, according to a Reuters report citing a top Indian official and a source.

The report states that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is currently in India for the 24th round of border talks, during which he met with India’s National Security Advisor Ajit Doval in New Delhi.

This meeting comes just days before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit.

At the beginning of the meeting, Doval told Wang Yi,

“There is an upward trend. The border is peaceful. Peace and stability are being maintained.”
He added,
“Our bilateral engagement has deepened.”

Doval further noted,

“The new environment we’ve created has enabled us to move forward in multiple areas where we are working together.”

In response, Wang Yi said,

“The obstacles faced by the two countries in recent years were not in the interest of the people.”

Earlier on Tuesday, an Indian source said that China has pledged to address India’s three major concerns. According to the source, Wang Yi assured India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar that Beijing is taking steps to fulfill New Delhi’s needs for fertilizers, rare earths, and tunnel boring machines.

However, India’s Ministries of External Affairs and Mines, as well as China’s Ministry of Commerce, have not yet issued any official comments.

It remains unclear whether China will expedite export licenses for India or provide any exemptions. In the past, while China promised to speed up export licenses for Europe and the United States, it did not loosen its control mechanisms.

Although India holds the fifth-largest rare earth reserves in the world, it does not produce any magnets domestically. As a result, India relies heavily on imports of rare earth magnets from China.