china-offers-fertilizer-rare-earths-and-tunnel-machines-to-india

As the two countries seek to normalise their relationship, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi promised India's External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during a fruitful bilateral meeting on Monday that China would resume supplying vital products like fertilisers, rare earth minerals, and tunnel boring machines (TBMs).

It is understood that Jaishankar had raised the issue of supplies of urea, NPK, DAP, rare earth minerals, and TBMs with Wang Yi during a visit to China last month. However, the sensitive topic of boundary and border issues was not discussed by Jaishankar during his meeting with Wang Yi. 

Instead, this subject is scheduled to be addressed by National Security Adviser Ajit Doval in a Special Representative Dialogue later today. Minister Wang is also set to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi this evening.

 

China promises to address three key concerns of India. Foreign Minister Wang Yi assured EAM that China is addressing India’s needs of fertilisers, rare earths and tunnel boring machines: Sources https://t.co/liCzB57nz2

— ANI (@ANI) August 19, 2025

Jaishankar informed his Chinese counterpart that India's position on Taiwan remains unchanged, and similar to other nations, India maintains a diplomatic presence there for economic and cultural ties.

Although friendly, the discussions took place against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump's policies, which both parties acknowledged might potentially target China and India. It was generally agreed that in order to get through this uncertain time, the two nations must have close communication.

China's decision to start supplying fertilizers, TBMs, and rare earths to India again is a big step because Beijing had previously placed a near-year-long ban on these imports. About 30pc of India's agricultural fertilizers, rare earths for auto parts, and TBMs for the construction of roads and urban infrastructure come from China, making it a significant supplier.

Although border talks were not discussed at the Jaishankar-Wang meeting, NSA Ajit Doval will bring up and go into great detail about this delicate subject during the Special Representative-level discussions. The de-escalation of forces along the 3,488-kilometer Line of Actual Control (LAC) will be the main topic of these discussions. There is an urgent need to return the large number of Indian and Chinese troops that are still gathered on the border to their barracks, even though some boundary friction and patrolling issues have been resolved in Ladakh.

 

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