NEW DELHI: India on Thursday appointed senior diplomat Vikram Doraiswami as its next ambassador to China, a key posting as the two countries cautiously rebuild ties after years of military tensions along the Line of Actual Control. Doraiswami, a 1992-batch Indian Foreign Service officer and currently High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, is expected to take up his new assignment shortly.
He succeeds Pradeep Rawat, who steered engagement during a sensitive phase following the disengagement process in eastern Ladakh in October 2023, which ended a prolonged standoff. Since then, New Delhi and Beijing have taken measured steps to stabilise relations, including resuming the Kailash Mansarovar pilgrimage, restarting direct flights and easing some restrictions on visas and investments.
Doraiswami is widely regarded as an experienced diplomat with deep regional expertise. His early diplomatic career included a posting in Hong Kong in the mid-1990s, where he studied Mandarin, followed by a nearly four-year stint in Beijing. This background is seen as an asset as India navigates a complex and evolving relationship with China. Over a three-decade career, Doraiswami has held several key assignments across Asia and beyond. He has served as India’s envoy to Uzbekistan, South Korea and Bangladesh, before being posted to London in 2022. His tenure in Dhaka coincided with a crucial phase in India’s neighbourhood diplomacy.
A journalist-turned-diplomat, Doraiswami also worked in the Prime Minister’s Office as private secretary to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. His multilateral experience includes a stint at India’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, along with postings in South Africa. At the headquarters in New Delhi, he has handled key divisions, including those dealing with the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, the Americas, and India’s neighbourhood, particularly Bangladesh and the Maldives. Meanwhile, senior diplomat P Kumaran, currently secretary (East) in the MEA, is expected to be appointed as the next envoy to the United Kingdom.