India, Oct. 19 -- In time, "announcement No. 62 of 2025" of the Chinese government may be remembered as the moment when the power balance of the world comprehensively tipped. The government order that made the export of rare earths-crucial to a range of industries from mobile phones to fighter jets-subject to official clearances showed that the Chinese could, at least in the near term, bring vital sectors to a halt if they clamp down on the source of rare earth minerals, of which China controls 70% of global supplies. In the immediate future, China, therefore, has an equal-if not even more powerful-leverage on America, as US President Donald Trump has with his tariffs upon China.

And despite ever more dramatic tariff escalations, India h...