NEW DELHI: Sensing the shortage of rare earth magnets, India is mulling a crucial 'deal' with the China government as it has short-listed some domestic auto industry representatives to send to China for expediting the import of rare earth magnets. India is still in touch with China's commerce ministry on the issue of rare earth magnet supply, as Beijing has imposed restrictions on their exports in April, an Industry source privy to development said on Sunday. Rare earth magnets, primarily neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) and samarium-cobalt (SmCo) magnets, are used in a wide range of applications, mostly in electric motors, including those for electric vehicles (Evs), wind turbines, and various power tools. Also, these rare earth magnets are integral to permanent magnet synchronous motors used in EVs for high torque, energy efficiency and compact size. The move of the government comes at a time when there is a ‘bitter’ relationship with China on the issue of supplying rare earth magnets to India, although New Delhi has officially acknowledged raising this matter with China to resolve the issue mutually. In FY25 alone, the country imported over 53,000 tonnes of rare earth magnets. The bulk came from a single source — China, the largest producer of rare earth magnet in the world — at a time when global supply chains remain fragile. “Staring at shortages, the domestic automobile industry has also sought government support in expediting approvals from China to import rare earth magnets. Around 50 industry executives are learnt to have received visas last month, but are still awaiting a formal nod from the Chinese authorities for the meetings on the matter,” the source said. Concerned over this issue, the domestic auto industry is forced to take steps as the Chinese government has put restrictions since April 4 this year on the export of rare earth elements and related magnets. China has mandated special export licences for seven rare earth elements and related magnets. “The auto industry is staring at this shortage, resulting in significant production losses,” the source said. Realising this matter, the government has already stepped in to have a possible solution for steady import of rare earth magnets from China. “On rare earths, yes, we have been in touch with the Chinese side both in Delhi as also in Beijing and we are talking to them as to how we can streamline the supply chain issue on rare earths,” ministry of external affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said last week. China controls over 90 per cent of the global processing capacity for magnets used across sectors, including automobiles, home appliances and clean energy. The critical materials include samarium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium and lutetium, which are essential in electric motors, braking systems, smartphones and missile technology.