New Delhi, Aug. 20 -- China's recent move to ease export restrictions on fertilizers, rare earths, and tunnel-boring machines to India is a welcome step, but self-reliance remains the only real safeguard for New Delhi against its widening trade deficit with Beijing, the Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said in a report.

The GTRI report highlighted that India cannot ignore its deep economic dependence on Chinese imports.

This development follows Beijing's earlier curbs on critical minerals such as gallium, germanium, and graphite that disrupted India's electronics and electric vehicle sectors. In June 2025, Chinese battery giant CATL even withdrew engineers from Foxconn's Chennai plant, halting operations.

Despite the recent rela...