Vikram Doraiswami appointed India’s next Ambassador to China

NEW DELHI (TIP): Senior diplomat Vikram K. Doraiswami, currently serving as India’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, has been appointed as the next Ambassador of India to the People’s Republic of China, the Ministry of External Affairs announced on Thursday, March 19.

Doraiswami, a 1992-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, is expected to take up the assignment shortly. He will succeed Pradeep Kumar Rawat, who has been serving as India’s Ambassador to China since March 2022.

Doraiswami brings extensive diplomatic experience, with prior postings in South Korea, Uzbekistan and at India’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York. He has also served in the Prime Minister’s Office and held senior positions within the MEA, reflecting a wide-ranging career in India’s foreign policy establishment.

Significantly, he has experience in China-related affairs, having earlier served at Indian missions in Beijing and Hong Kong, and is known to be proficient in multiple languages, including Chinese.

His appointment comes at a crucial juncture in India-China relations, which have remained strained since the Galwan Valley clashes in 2020. However, recent months have seen cautious efforts by both sides to stabilize ties through continued diplomatic engagement.

There have been renewed attempts to rebuild bilateral relations, including the resumption of direct flights, easing of visa procedures and promotion of people-to-people exchanges. These steps indicate a gradual effort by both countries to restore normalcy while managing underlying strategic differences. Doraiswami is expected to play a key role in navigating this complex relationship, balancing competition and cooperation between the two Asian neighbors. Experts say his diplomatic experience and familiarity with multilateral and regional issues are likely to be significant assets as New Delhi seeks to recalibrate its approach to Beijing.