China has removed its export restrictions on fertilisers, rare-earth minerals and tunnel-boring machines destined for India, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar during talks in New Delhi on 19 August, according to statements from both governments. The curbs, imposed earlier this year amid heightened security tensions, had tightened supplies crucial to India’s agriculture, electronics and infrastructure sectors. At the same meeting the two countries agreed to restore direct passenger flights "at the earliest" and to finalise an updated air-services agreement. Commercial flights between the Asian neighbours have been grounded since early 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic coincided with a deadly Himalayan border clash. The ministers also committed to reopening border trade through the Lipulekh, Shipki La and Nathu La passes, easing visa issuance for tourists and business travellers, and expanding the scale of the Indian pilgrimage to Mount Kailash in Tibet. Working groups will be set up to advance these measures and to discuss broader trade and investment facilitation. Chinese Ambassador Xu Feihong later said Beijing "firmly stands with India" against recent U.S. tariff hikes and is ready to welcome more Indian goods, underscoring a broader effort by the region’s two largest economies to stabilise relations and diversify commercial links after their 2020 border confrontation.