China agrees to address India's concerns over supply of fertilisers, rare earth minerals

New Delhi: China has agreed to ease restrictions to supply fertilisers and rare earth minerals to India with Chinese Foreign Minister Wany Yi conveying the forward movement on the issue to his counterpart S Jaishankar, authoritative sources said on Tuesday.

The Chinese move came after the Indian side raised the issue during talks between the two foreign ministers on Monday.

Wang is paying a two-day visit to India.

China promised to address three key concerns of India, the sources said.

"Foreign Minister Wang Yi assured External Affairs Minister Jaishankar that China is addressing India's needs of fertilisers, rare earths and tunnel boring machines," one of the sources said.

Jaishankar had on Monday said, without providing details, that he brought up "particular concerns" in the meeting that he had flagged during his visit to Beijing last month as well.

Rare earth minerals are considered vital for high-end technology products, including electric vehicles (EVs), drones, and battery storage. China has been a dominant player in the critical minerals supply chain globally.

In his opening remarks at the meeting, the external affairs minister also said that India and China should adopt a "candid and constructive" approach in moving ahead in the engagement after a difficult period.

Jaishankar also pitched for taking forward the de-escalation process in the border areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh that witnessed over a four-year face-off between the militaries of the two nations.

Wang's visit is largely seen as part of ongoing efforts by the two neighbours to rebuild their relationship after it came under severe strain following the deadly Galwan Valley clashes in 2020.

The Chinese foreign minister is in India primarily to hold a fresh round of Special Representatives (SR) dialogue on the boundary question with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.

In the SR talks on Tuesday, both sides are expected to deliberate on new confidence-building measures besides reviewing the overall situation along the LAC.

Though the two sides disengaged troops from the friction points, they are yet to de-escalate the situation by pulling back the frontline forces from the border.

Each side currently has around 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the LAC in the eastern Ladakh region.

NSA Doval travelled to China in December last and held the SR talks with Wang, weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping decided to revive various dialogue mechanisms between the two sides at a meeting in the Russian city of Kazan.

The military standoff in eastern Ladakh began in May 2020 and the clashes at the Galwan Valley in June that year resulted in a severe strain in bilateral ties.

The face-off effectively ended following completion of the disengagement process from the last two friction points of Demchok and Depsang under an agreement finalised on October 21 last year.

In the last few months, the two sides also initiated a number of initiatives to rebuild the ties that included resumption of Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and New Delhi restarting issuance of tourist visas to Chinese nationals.