China and Canada have announced significant tariffs relief following a high-stakes meeting between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Beijing, signaling a reset in their strained relationship.

• China will lower tariffs on Canadian canola oil from 85% to 15% by March 1, while Canada will tax Chinese electric vehicles at the most-favored-nation rate of 6.1%, with a cap of 49,000 vehicles.
• The deal is a breakthrough after years of strained ties, largely stemming from Canada's 2018 arrest of Meng Wanzhou, CFO of Huawei, and China's subsequent detention of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor.
• Carney's visit is the first by a Canadian leader to China in nearly a decade and comes as Canada seeks to diversify trade away from the US due to tariff uncertainties.

India has approved a 73-billion-rupee ($800m; £600m) plan to produce rare earth magnets, aiming to reduce its dependence on China, which currently controls over 90% of global rare earth processing. The initiative seeks to achieve self-reliance by focusing on magnet production, a crucial component in electric vehicles, wind turbines, and smartphones.

• India plans to produce 6,000 tonnes of permanent magnets annually within seven years.
• China's tightened export controls last year highlighted India's vulnerability, as it imports 80-90% of its magnets and related materials from China.
• Experts emphasize the need for technological mastery, secure materials, and scalability, with consulting firm Benchmark Mineral Intelligence's Neha Mukherjee stressing the importance of strategic partnerships to build capabilities.
• India possesses the world’s third-largest rare earth reserves (about 8% of the global total) but mines less than 1%, largely exporting its raw materials.
• Concerns remain about India's lack of industrial expertise, difficulty in sourcing specific heavy rare earth elements, and challenges in competitively pricing domestically produced magnets against cheaper imports from China.