New Delhi: China dominates India’s clean energy and advanced manufacturing supply chain. It controls more than 84% of India’s lithium-ion battery imports, 78% of permanent magnet supplies and over half of lithium carbonate imports. This is a challenge for New Delhi as it is against this backdrop that India and the United States signed a critical minerals cooperation framework on May 26, aimed at gradually building alternative supply chains across mining, refining, processing, recycling and strategic investments, Saurav Anand wrote in a Financial Express report.India’s imports of critical minerals and rare earths climbed 6.45% year-on-year to $521.75 million in FY26, driven by surging demand from electric vehicles, battery storage, semiconductors and renewable energy manufacturing, even as China continued to dominate nearly every segment of the supply chain.Permanent magnets, used in EV motors, wind turbines and defence systems, remained the single largest import category at $221.66 million in FY26. China supplied 78% of that, while the United States accounted for just 1%, the report mentioned.The picture is similar elsewhere.-China controlled more than 84% of India’s lithium-ion battery imports during FY26, according to an analysis by Rubix Data Sciences, reflecting a dependence that goes well beyond raw materials into processed battery ecosystems and integrated supply chains.In lithium carbonate, China held 51% of India’s import supply, though the US had a comparatively stronger 14% presence.Speaking to FE, Tushar Bhaskar, president at Rubix Data Sciences, tempered expectations around the India-US agreement. “China currently controls about 60% of global rare earth reserves and processes nearly 90% of global supply, giving it overwhelming leverage in downstream sectors such as permanent magnets, EV batteries and clean-energy technologies,” he said. “The significance of the pact lies more in diversification and strategic resilience than in replacing China outright.”Similarly, Saloni Sachdeva Michael, lead energy specialist at India Clean Energy Transition, said the challenge is structural. “China’s dominance in critical minerals is not just about owning mines; it rests on controlling the processing and manufacturing steps between the mine and the market,” she was quoted as saying by FE. “Even ore dug in Australia or Africa often passes through Chinese refineries and magnet plants before it enters global supply chains.”Notably, India’s position as a producer remains limited. Currently, it mines only four critical minerals copper, graphite, phosphorus and titanium as it is constrained by limited exploration activity, weak infrastructure and the absence of advanced processing technologies, the report mentioned.