NEW DELHI: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Monday assured External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar that Beijing will resume critical exports to India-- including fertilisers, rare earth minerals, and tunnel boring machines-- meeting three long-standing Indian concerns.
The assurance, confirmed by sources familiar with the discussions, signals a potential step forward in rebalancing economic ties between the two Asian powers, which have faced prolonged strain since the border standoff of 2020.
During the meeting, Jaishankar reiterated India’s need for uninterrupted supplies of urea, NPK, DAP fertilisers, rare earth materials essential for manufacturing and clean energy technologies, and tunnel boring machines used in key infrastructure projects. According to sources, Minister Wang responded positively and committed to facilitating these exports.
The development reflects a shared recognition that pragmatic cooperation in trade and infrastructure can continue even as broader strategic differences remain to be sorted through, building greater trust.
Significantly, boundary issues were not taken up in Monday’s talks. Those will be addressed on Tuesday when Wang meets National Security Adviser Ajit Doval for the next round of the Special Representatives Dialogue on the border. Wang is also expected to call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi later in the day, in what could be an important symbolic gesture of high-level engagement.
While both countries have maintained a firm stance on the unresolved border issues, the willingness to move forward on other fronts suggests a potential easing of tensions. Officials described Monday’s meeting as “constructive,” and noted that both sides were open to advancing normalisation “step by step.”
India’s dependence on Chinese imports for specific high-tech and industrial inputs—particularly in the fertiliser and electronics sectors—has made supply disruptions in recent years economically costly. China’s readiness to restore these flows could be interpreted as a signal of goodwill, and a possible foundation for broader engagement.
That said, New Delhi remains cautious. Sources reiterated that full normalisation of ties cannot happen without progress on the boundary issue. But the renewed economic cooperation is being seen as a small but meaningful course correction.”
All eyes will now be on Tuesday’s boundary talks—and whether this momentum can carry forward into more substantive diplomatic ground.
