China on Thursday hinted at holding talks with India over its restrictions on export of rare earth materials, saying it is willing to enhance dialogue and cooperation with relevant countries to keep industrial supply chains stable.

China’s recent restrictions on the exports of key metals caused widespread disruption in the manufacturing of automobiles and semiconductor chips in a host of countries, including India.

"We are willing to enhance dialogue and cooperation with relevant countries and regions to jointly keep the stability of global industrial and supply chains,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said.

Lin was responding to a question from PTI whether China is willing to lift restrictions on exports of rare earth metals to India as it began clearing export licences to the US and the EU.

Lin, however, reiterated that for specifics, the relevant authorities should be approached.

On June 16, Indian Ambassador Pradeep Kumar Rawat met Chinese Vice Minister Sun Weidong and held talks on bilateral issues. They discussed “common concerns” among others, a foreign ministry statement here said.

Reports from India spoke of growing concerns about shortages of the rare metals in automobiles and other industries.

After several months of a squeeze on rare earth metals over which China holds a monopoly, Beijing began clearing selective export licenses reportedly for the US as both countries held talks in London over the issues.

Rare earths are a group of metals consisting of 17 elements. Though present in several counties, their extraction is costly and messy, causing massive amounts of pollution.

According to the International Energy Agency, China accounts for 61 per cent of global mined rare earth production but controls 92 per cent of the global output.

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced that a deal with China "is done" after two days of talks in London, marking a turnaround in the trade war between the two major economies.

Trump's announcement came after the negotiating teams from both sides concluded two-day talks in London, where they agreed to resolve their trade disputes.

China has opened talks with the US and EU to address complaints of shortages but remained silent about India’s request for talks on the issue.

An Indian delegation of auto industry representatives is gearing up for a China visit to expedite the import of rare earth magnets to Indian entities, according to industry sources in New Delhi.

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