China welcomes Vikram Doraiswami's appointment as India's new envoy

Beijing: China on Friday welcomed the appointment of veteran diplomat Vikram Doraiswami as the new Indian Ambassador, expressing hope that he will make a positive contribution to the sustained improvement of Sino-India ties.

Doraiswami, a 1992-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, is currently serving as the Indian High Commissioner to the UK. The 56-year-old diplomat was appointed India's new envoy to China on Thursday. He will succeed Pradeep Kumar Rawat.

He is expected to take up the new assignment shortly.

Reacting to Doraiswami's appointment, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian told a media briefing on Friday that diplomatic envoys are important bridges for friendly cooperation and relations between countries.

China welcomes the appointment of the new Indian ambassador to China Vikram Doraiswami, stands ready to provide him with facilitation as he carries out his duty in China, and looks forward to his positive role in promoting the continuous improvement and growth of China-India ties, Lin said, while replying to a question.

"I noted that Ambassador Doraiswami has chosen a Chinese name for himself: Wei Jiameng," Lin said.

The loose translation of the name in Mandarin, according to Chinese scholars, is Wei, a common Chinese surname that phonetically matches "Vi" in Vikram. Long ago, Wei was a powerful state during the Warring States period in Chinese history.

"Jia" means “auspicious or praiseworthy”, “Meng” means “alliance”. Broadly meaning auspicious/praiseworthy ally, the scholars told PTI.

All put together, it can be said as "one who forms an excellent alliance", according to one Chinese scholar, which carries diplomatic significance in the present context of India-China relations.

Lin said China hopes that after assuming his duties, Doraiswami will make positive contributions to the sustained improvement and development of China-India ties.

Doraiswami’s appointment evoked considerable interest in the Chinese official media and the Chinese strategic community.

A Mandarin speaker, he served both in Hong Kong and Beijing diplomatic missions in his early career as a diplomat. He served as Third Secretary in Hong Kong in his early career, where he earned an elective diploma in Chinese from the New Asia Yale-in-Asia Language School before moving to Beijing in September 1996 for a four-year tenure.

The Chinese official media has given a positive build-up to Doraiswami’s appointment.

Global Times, part of the People’s Daily publication group of the ruling Communist Party, has featured his appointment on the front page, with the headline 'India appoints seasoned “China hand” as next Ambassador'.

"The position of Ambassador to China is considered one of the most critical positions within India's diplomatic service… Doraiswami's stints working in China have endowed him with a more rational and comprehensive understanding of the country," Lin Minwang, deputy director of the Centre for South Asian Studies at Fudan University, told the Global Times.

Doraiswami is a heavyweight "China hand" among India's senior diplomats, possessing a profound understanding of China-India relations and China's national conditions, Qian Feng, director of the Research Department at Tsinghua University's National Strategy Institute, told the daily.

According to him, the latest appointment underscores the great importance New Delhi attaches to its ties with Beijing, and embodies a strong emphasis on both professionalism and pragmatism in stabilising and advancing ties, which is a positive signal.

By dispatching this senior diplomat to Beijing, India seeks to engage more precisely and effectively with China at the frontline level, thereby facilitating the management of complex and sensitive bilateral issues, managing differences and broadening cooperation, Qian said.

He said outgoing Ambassador Rawat made efforts to help China-India relations steadily emerge from their earlier low point.

Like Doraiswami, several Indian diplomats, including Rawat, studied Chinese and served in the Indian diplomatic missions in China.

Doraiswami’s appointment comes amid efforts by the two sides to rebuild relations that came under severe strain following the over four-year military standoff in eastern Ladakh in April, 2020.

In the last few months, India and China have stepped up efforts to stabilise their relations, seeking a reset after the 2020 military standoff in the Galwan Valley plunged ties to the lowest point in decades. The military standoff effectively ended in October 2024.