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How a no-limits Russia-China pact is reshaping the post-war world order
The efficacy of India's military partnership with the US and the West, in general, may diminish as China emerges as a peer technological power with comparable military capabilities
Shyam Saran
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Chinese President Xi Jinping paid an important visit to Moscow from May 7 to 10, his 11th since taking office in 2012. He was the chief guest at the celebrations of the 80th anniversary of Victory Day, marking the defeat of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan by the allied forces – including the then Soviet Union and Republic of China. Mr Xi had attended similar festivities in Moscow 10 years ago. This year was special because not only was he the chief guest, but a unit of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) took part in the victory parade at
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Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
R&D? Rarely
Dependence in critical areas makes the nation vulnerable. Strategic interest must prevail over economic sense Germany's crude reserves are so small, they won't last three months in an emergency. So how did Hitler wage war for five years? By turning coal into petrol. Over 92% of the Luftwaffe's aviation fuel was synthetic. As the world grapples with China's rare earth curbs, there's a useful lesson here. While the rare earths crisis that started with China's export curbs on April 4 may be blowing over – Trump announced on Truth Social yesterday, 'Full magnets, and any necessary rare earths, will be supplied, up front, by China' – it will have a once-bitten-twice-shy effect. Over the past few weeks, Western carmakers have considered producing cars minus some components that use rare earths. At home, Maruti's had to scale back production plans for its first EV due to a global shortage of rare earth magnets. As our second Op-Ed explains, these magnets contain about 25% of a rare earth element called neodymium. It's one of the so-called 'light' rare earths that are available in India, but we don't produce enough of it because cheap Chinese supplies made investment in this area unattractive. While you can make motors without rare earths, other devices like TV screens, computers and MRI machines can't do without them. That's why India needs to build a large rare earths industry. And with the world's fifth largest rare earth reserves, it's well-placed to do so. Likewise, it needs to end its dependence on China for 70% of active pharmaceutical ingredients or APIs, because while buying from the cheapest supplier makes economic sense, it's a strategic risk. The aim must be to reduce dependence because dependence, especially in critical products, is vulnerability. About 90% of our crude is imported. An electric future will take care of that, but not if it means 100% dependence on China for lithium batteries. To find alternatives – like Germany's WW-II 'synfuels' – we need big investments in R&D, which is not our strong suit. As a nation, we invest only 0.6% of our $4tn GDP in research. China invests 2.4% of $18tn, US 3.5% of $29tn. And our private sector is even stingier, accounting for only a third of the national R&D spend, as against 70% in US and S Korea. The rare earth crisis is a brief distraction, the real issue is India's rare investment problem, and it needs national attention now. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email This piece appeared as an editorial opinion in the print edition of The Times of India.
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Indian govt report in 2022 foresaw China rare earth export crisis
As Indian manufacturers are scrambling to deal with supply-chain disruptions caused by China's restrictive policies on the export of rare earth metals, in many of which it has a near monopoly, experts are pointing to an early warning of this — in a 2012 strategy paper prepared by a steering committee headed by the then mines secretary Vishwapati Trivedi after a similar crisis caused after Beijing restricted supplies of the critical materials that are needed in the auto, space and clean energy industries. Also Read: 'China deal done': US to lower tariffs to 55%, allow Chinese students for higher ed Back then, they added, India felt the heat of Chinese squeeze and on August 9, 2011, the government set up an 11-member steering committee to develop a strategy paper on status and availability of rare earth elements (REE) and energy critical elements (ECE). The committee was chaired by the mines secretary and co-chaired by chairman of the Centre for Study of Science Technology (C-STEP). Members included senior officials and experts from the Department of Science & Technology (DST), the Geological Survey of India, the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), the Department of Atomic Energy, the Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO) and the chairman of India Rare Earth Ltd. Also Read: China can't afford double standards in fight against terror: S Jaishankar The forward of the committee's report titled ''Rare Earths and Energy Critical Elements: a Roadmap and Strategy for India', published in July 2012, said: 'In view of the increased demand of REE and near monopoly of supply from China, there is a need to develop national policies and implementation strategies for ensuring indigenous supply of REE… A Steering Committee was constituted by the ministry of mines with the ultimate intention of preparing a strategy paper for the government, providing short, medium and long term options along with proposals for specific policy & legislative interventions.' Also Read: 'Gratitude to Indian Navy': China on rescue of crew aboard cargo ship which caught fire off Kerala coast The report was blunt about Beijing's approach. 'China has been the major supplier of rare earths all over the world. Even though it has only 37% of global RE resources, it has captured the worldwide market to the extent of 97%. The low cost and efficient production process enabled China to monopolize the rare-earth market, forcing rare earth operations around the world to close down. Indian Rare Earths Ltd (IREL), which was once a leader in export of rare earth compounds had to shut down its operation in 2008,' the report added. 'Over the last couple of years China has imposed restrictions and curtailed its export by over 30% citing domestic demands as the reason. This unexpected decline has restarted rare earth operations once again throughout the world,' the report said. The same thing is happening again. Indian industries are suffering due to shortage of the critical minerals. According to a Reuters report published in Hindustan Times on Wednesday, automobile majors such as Maruti Suzuki have cut near-term production targets because of rare earth shortages. 'Government departments, particularly the ministry of commerce and industry, are holding hectic meetings with industry and other stakeholders to resolve the supply crisis. Government is using diplomatic channels asking Beijing to relax supply curbs for the Indian industries,' one of the people mentioned in the first instance said. The ministries of mines, commerce and external affairs did not respond to an email query on this matter. China's curbs on exports of rare earth materials have been officially raised through diplomatic channels by India, especially in view of the impact on manufacturers of electric vehicles, people familiar with the matter said. The issue reportedly figured in a meeting between Indian ambassador Pradeep Rawat and China's vice foreign minister Sun Weidong in Beijing on June 5. 'China's move was primarily aimed at the US and the impact on India was collateral damage. We are hopeful that the matter will be resolved soon,' one of the people said. It is not clear how China's deal with the US —the two countries reached a framework agreement that will now have to be approved by their respective Presidents —will affect this. The matter is expected to figure in discussions during a visit to India by Sun Weidong, a former Chinese ambassador to New Delhi, beginning on Thursday, the people said. Sun is visiting India to continue discussions with foreign secretary Vikram Misri aimed at normalising bilateral ties following the end of the military face-off in the Ladakh sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) last October. Auto manufacturers affected by the curbs on rare earth exports too have sought to reach out to Chinese authorities but without much success so far, the people said. Two days after India and China reached an understanding on withdrawing forces from the two remaining 'friction points' on the LAC last October, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping met in the Russian city of Kazan and agreed to revive several mechanisms to restore normalcy in ties and to address the long-standing border dispute.
The Print
2 hours ago
- The Print
Trump says ‘deal is done', China to remove curbs on exports of critical minerals to US
US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick had earlier late Tuesday evening said that the two sides had agreed to put the 'meat on the bones' on the framework agreed to last month in Geneva to eventually reduce the reciprocal tariffs imposed by Washington DC and Beijing on one another. The deal will also allow Chinese students continued access to elite American universities, following threats from the Trump administration to curb their admissions. New Delhi: US President Donald Trump Wednesday said a 'deal' with China is done and relations between the two largest economies are 'excellent'. This deal will allow for the export of critical minerals from Beijing to Washington DC following two days of intense negotiations between their respective officials in London. The bilateral tariffs imposed on imports to the US from China crossed 100 percent on goods, following Trump's 'reciprocal tariffs' first announced on 2 April. The tit-for-tat trade war had led to both governments agreeing to a framework to reduce tariffs last month. Donald J. Trump Truth Social 06.11.25 08:04 AM EST — Commentary Donald J. Trump Posts From Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) June 11, 2025 However, China continued to impose curbs on the exports of critical minerals and technologies to the US, which led to Washington imposing its own curbs on exports of certain goods such as semiconductors to Beijing. The deal struck in London will see the withdrawal of these curbs in a 'balanced way' according to Lutnick. However, the details of the deal have yet to be made public. Minutes after his first statement, Trump in another post on the social media platform added: 'President XI and I are going to work closely together to open up China to American Trade. This would be a great WIN for both countries!!!' The current round of talks in London came after Trump and the President of China Xi Jinping held a call last week. 'The two sides need to make good use of the economic and trade consultation mechanism already in place, and seek win-win results in the spirit of equality and respect for each other's concerns,' Xi is said to have told Trump during the call, according to the Chinese readout. The 90-minute call between the two leaders last week was the first between the two since Trump returned to the White House in January, reported The New York Times. 'The two sides reached principled agreement on implementing the important consensus reached by the two heads of state during their phone call on June 5 and the framework of measures to consolidate the outcomes of the economic and trade talks in Geneva, and made new progress in addressing each other's economic and trade concerns,' the Chinese readout of the talks in London said, as published by Xinhua. The US delegation consisted of Lutnick, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. China was represented by Vice Premier He Lifeng, who is in charge of economic policy. The deal, if agreed to by both leaders, could see some normalisation in the export of critical minerals from China to the US, which is a key part of the manufacturing of most modern technologies. After Trump's original tariffs on China touched 145 per cent a few months ago, Beijing instituted curbs on the exports of such goods, given its strong hold on the supply of critical minerals and magnets in the global market. The US in retaliation also highlighted a potential ban of Chinese students from studying at American universities. (Edited by Gitanjali Das) Also Read: Trump's flip-flop to China's aggression—What's bringing India and Australia closer
